Up to 2 million residents avoid Dutch nature areas due to lack of toilet facilities

Many Dutch residents reportedly avoid outdoor activities because public toilets are scarce, a situation that restricts mobility for those with digestive and bladder issues, RTV Utrecht reported.

The MDL Fonds, which advocates for people with gastrointestinal diseases, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to install a nature toilet at the edge of Amelisweerd/Rhijnauwen in Utrecht to address the problem.

Robby Nanhekhan, 60, told RTV Utrecht that his irritable bowel syndrome sometimes forces him to use the toilet up to seven times a day. His condition recently caused a tense encounter when municipal officers (BOAs) caught him relieving himself in the woods. “They came up to me and said: ‘You may not urinate in the wild.’” He got away with a warning.

The MDL Fonds estimates that between 1 and 2 million Dutch people live with irritable bowel syndrome, 100,000 with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and 40,000 with a stoma.

“There are many people who do not enter nature areas because there is no toilet nearby,” Mariël Croon, director of the MDL Fonds, told RTV Utrecht. “Older adults also need to go more frequently. Everyone recognizes the problem.”

To fund the first toilet at a nature site, the foundation has launched a campaign seeking 25,000 euros. “Amelisweerd/Rhijnauwen sees 2.3 million visitors annually. The nearby cafés cannot handle all the demand, and they’re sometimes closed. Visitors only using toilets there can also be unwelcome,” Croon told RTV Utrecht.

The planned facility will be maintained and cleaned by the municipality. Croon emphasized that it will not resemble the temporary toilets often seen at construction sites. “It’s a simple, attractive design that fits the environment and is wheelchair accessible,” she said.