BOYS need BINS

BOYS need BINS

We are currently working closely with a number of organisations on developing a campaign to encourage government to devise a legal requirement for the inclusion of sanitary bins in Mens Toilets. Over More »

New Bill for Public Toilets moves to the Lords

New Bill for Public Toilets moves to the Lords

In October of 2022 a “Levelling Up and Regeneration” Bill was introduced into Parliament by Ministers that will address a number of issues that the country facres ciming out of Covid and More »

Improved Legislation and more funding needed

Improved Legislation and more funding needed

23 July 2021 The British Toilet Association has called for improved legislation and more government funding to address the current “appalling” lack of public toilet provision. Public toilets are in “crisis” and rapidly vanishing, More »

Coronavirus (Covid-19)     BTA GUIDELINES

Coronavirus (Covid-19) BTA GUIDELINES

The BTA has been continuing to work throughout the pandemic to offer advice and guidance to all our members as well as providers and suppliers; on the importance of publicly accessible toilets. Each day we More »

 

HSE REVIEWS APPROACH TO TRUCKER’S TOILETS

The Road Haulage Association has expressed its relief at news that the Health and Safety Executive has reviewed it’s approach concerning access to facilities for visiting delivery drivers and has re-examined the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, in particular Regs 20 and 21.

They are now in the process of updating their guidance to say that drivers must have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their work. As this is likely to take some time, key stakeholders are being informed now.

Commenting, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “If this industry is to retain a healthy, safe workforce, then drivers must have access to proper facilities. This problem for many members and their drivers is all too familiar. Visiting drivers are often refused access to toilet facilities at delivery sites – an unacceptable practice that we are determined to eradicate.”

“We have been working with campaigning group Truckers Toilets UK to improve this situation; not just at distribution centres but on the entire road network. We therefore consider it a considerable win for the entire industry that HSE have re-examined the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and are going to update their guidance to say that drivers must have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their work. These changes won’t happen overnight but key stakeholders are being informed now.

Concluding, Richard Burnett said: “The welfare of all workers is a priority and we have consistently said that drivers should have this sort of access. We also recognise that the majority of duty holders already provide reasonable access to toilets. However, it is appalling that in the 21st century we have to report on these issues. It is now our intention to carry out a geomapping exercise to show drivers where the best facilities are in the UK.

BTA Welcomes New Public Health Act For Wales

The BTA has been actively involved in the new Public Health (Wales) Bill which has now been passed by the Welsh Assembly and has achieved Royal Assent and on Monday 3rd July 2017 was passed into law as The Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 for Wales.

Our previous meetings with Rebecca Evans, the Minister for Health and senior governmental officials helped to formulate this piece of legislation — that places a duty on every local authority in Wales to create a public toilet strategy for the provision of toilets in villages, towns, cities, historical sites and ideally along major arterial routes.

The BTA is committed to working with ALL interested parties and government departments to see the inception of this significant new piece of legislation is properly and professionally installed. It is hoped that the Act will primarily address some health, social and well-being issues for a wide range of user groups, older persons, families and children, delivery drivers, tourists and residents that could be expected to visit not only their local authority area but those visiting Wales generally.

At an official sealing ceremony yesterday, the Public Health (Wales) Bill became an Act of the Assembly. A Bill receives Royal Assent when Letters Patent under the Welsh Seal signed with Her Majesty’s own hand signifying Her Assent are notified to the Clerk of the Assembly.

The First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones applied the Welsh Seal to the Letters Patent at the sealing ceremony, which was also attended by the Minister for Social Services and Public Health.

Public Health (Wales) Bill 2016-17

bbc-news-wales

Welsh Labour promises ‘real improvements’ at assembly return to the Senedd
12 September 2016 –  by David Deans BBC News

 

Since 2011 the assembly has had powers to make its own laws – and in the last five-year term the Welsh Government almost completed its legislative programme, producing 25 new acts with one final law failing at the last hurdle. This time around there is a shake-up over how ministers in Cardiff Bay have laid out how they will make legislation in the Senedd, with six new laws proposed for the next year.

Political commentator Daran Hill, who previously dubbed the last series of laws “mainly managerial and unambitious”, told the BBC there was a “clear aim” to keep the legislative programme as “uncontroversial as possible”. Previously, the Welsh Government laid out which laws it was going to make for the following five years from the start. But in June, shortly after the European Union referendum result, First Minister Carwyn Jones told AMs he was moving to a yearly schedule for announcing which laws he would be making. He said this was “one step in developing our practices to ensure they befit the parliamentary responsibilities of this place”.

Outlining his plans in the Senedd in June, Mr Jones said his government would bring forward six bills over the following 12 months, saying they would “deliver real improvements for the people of Wales”. There are to be two laws on taxation on two small levies which are being devolved by April 2018 – the Wphwb-slideelsh versions of stamp duty land tax and landfill tax. The longstanding plan is that the Welsh Government will no longer wholly be reliant on block grant funding from the UK Treasury, although the revenue generated by these two taxes is small. Neither will keep their names. Stamp duty will be known as land transactions tax, while the landfill levy will become landfill disposals tax. Ministers have promised a bill to overturn parts of the UK government’s recent Trade Union Act as they apply to devolved services.

Labour had objected to the law, which sets new rules for industrial action including requiring 40% of workers eligible to vote to back strikes in key areas such as health and education, because of its impact on services that are governed from Cardiff. While the plan will pose a potential flash point with the UK Government, a letter leaked in February admitted ministers in London had a “very weak case” to impose the law in Wales. But the possible row is unlikely to translate into controversy in the Senedd, given that in the last assembly AM’s from Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats were united in opposition with Labour to
the curbs.

The remaining Liberal Democrat – Kirsty Williams – is now in the cabinet, while Labour and Plaid Cymru together would give ministers the majority they need to pass the law. One of the casualties of the aftermath of the assembly election was the proposed restrictions on e-cigarettes championed by former Health Minister Mark Drakeford. The measure, commonly known as the e-cig ban, was the only example of a law which the minority Labour government failed to get through at the last hurdle. With both the Liberal Democrats and the Tories opposed, it failed after a last-minute change of heart from a small number of Plaid AM’s who were going to back the law until the now-infamous cheap date jibe by Leighton Andrews.

The Public Health Bill will be returning to the assembly, but stripped of the e-cigarette ban, leaving the government with a bill full of proposals on public toilets, sunbeds and tattooing that had not generated the opposition the e-cigarette measures did. Within the year the Welsh Government is also planning a bill to provide a new legal framework for supporting children and young people with additional learning needs, as well as a bill to abolish social housing tenants’ “right to buy”.PHWB Front Cover (red)

“The Welsh Government attitude to legislating in this assembly is very much based on two significant political considerations,” said Welsh political commentator Daran Hill, who heads public affairs firm Positif. “The first is the practical experience of the past when the programme became weighed down, and it has therefore indicated a shorter list of laws for this assembly. The second factor is the lack of an outright majority on the floor of the assembly to pass any law at all. This means there’s an added incentive to keep to a minimum the number of laws taken to a vote on the floor of the assembly.”

He said the “clear aim is to keep the programme as uncontroversial as possible in order to get consensus or at least a simple majority of votes whenever a piece of law has to be taken through”. The Welsh Government said it did not plan to respond directly to the comments, but pointed to the bill for the land transaction tax as being “the longest and most complex piece of legislation the National Assembly will consider to date”

The BTA has been working with departments and local authorities to embrace this initiative and we will remain fully supportive of any opportunity to advise or support the inception of these toilet strategies.

10th Anniversary Celebrations

2006 – 2016
CHANGING PLACES CONSORTIUM CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF CAMPAIGNING ACROSS THE UK

 ITS ALL ABOUT #incLOOsion

Since 2006, the Changing Places Consortium has been campaigning for fully accessible toilets to support the rights of people with profound and multiple learning, and/or other physical disabilities, to access their community. Standard disabled toilets are not accessible for disabled people and can lead to unhygienic and stressful trips out for disabled people and their families. Being able to go to the toilet is a basic civil right, however every day thousands of people with a disability face the choice of being changed on the floor of an unhygienic public toilet, remaining in soiled clothing or not going out at all.

A Changing Places toilet is a fully accessible toilet with a height-adjustable changing bench, an overhead track or mobile hoist; a peninsular toilet and enough space for up to two carers. The Changing Places campaign has led to the installation of over 840 Changing Places toilets across the UK.

 CHANGING PLACES AWARENESS DAY – 19th JULY

Mike and Raymond (with shorts)Raymond Martin joined Mike Le-Surf from Mencap on a run across London to highlight the need for more Changing Places in the capital. They were supported by campaigners from Mencap and Generate who met up with MP Jack Dromey in the Houses of Parliament at the end of the run.

A new digital map has recently been launched to help people locate their nearest “Changing Places” toilets. “How far would you go?” Sign up on the new map webpage and find your nearest Changing Places toilet by visiting www.changingplacesmap.org.uk Find out how far you would have to go to find your nearest Changing Places toilet to highlight how disabled people can feel excluded from their local communities without these facilities. Use social media to let people know #howfarwouldyougo

 

Rossanna Trudgian, co-chair of the Changing Places Consortium said: “It is fantastic to see more and more Changing Places toilets being installed across the UK as we celebrate 10 years of campaigning. However, there are still many large public places across the UK that lack Changing Places toilets and therefore deny people’s rights. With the help of our fantastic campaigners, and our campaign sponsors Aveso, we will continue to fight to make sure every single one of the ¼ million people in the UK who require a Changing Places toilet, can access one.”

R&M Westminster  Minister in Westminster

For information and advice on Changing Places
Michael le Surf
Mencap

Telephone:        Direct on 020 7696 6019
Website:            www.mencap.org.uk.
E-mail:              changingplaces@mencap.org.uk

 

CHURCHES and TOILETS

An opinion poll into public attitudes to church buildings

A recent poll shows that the public welcomed Government funding for church heritage and revealed what would get them to return to visiting churches, chapels and meeting houses

National Churches Trust photo

60 % of British adults back the Government providing financial support for churches, chapels and meeting houses in order to protect their heritage and history for future generations, according to the findings of a new opinion poll, commissioned by the National Churches Trust. The overwhelming majority of British adults (84%) think that the UK’s churches, chapels and meeting houses are an important part of the UK’s heritage and history, according to the findings of the ComRes poll, which interviewed 2,038 GB adults online between the 16th and 17th December 2015.

A further 83% of British adults think that the UK’s churches and chapels and meeting houses play an important role for society. When people were asked what would most encourage them to visit churches, the top five responses were:

  • A friendly welcome
  • The provision of toilets

  • A Café or refreshment area,
  • Comfortable seating
  • Access to useful visitor information

The poll found that 57% of British adults said that they had visited a church in the past year for religious services, non-religious activities or as a visitor or tourist.

 A few of the Key findings include:

  • More than four in five Britons (84%) agree that the UK’s churches, chapels and meeting houses are an important part of the UK’s heritage and history.
  • The majority of British adults (83%) agree that churches, chapels and meeting houses are important for society as they provide a space in which community activities can take place, as well as worship. But what would encourage more of them to visit a one of these places
  • 34% said the provision of toilets

  • 32% said that a Café or refreshment area
  • 29% said that comfortable seating and
  • 28% said that access to useful visitor information would encourage them to visit
  • Younger adults (those aged 18-34) say that Wi-Fi would encourage them to visit
  • 46% of British adults agreed that it is difficult to find useful visitor information, such
    as directions, opening hours and details of things to see and do.

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said:

“This poll shows that there is overwhelming public support for church buildings, despite the decline in the numbers of people in Britain identifying themselves as Christian in recent years.” The British public thinks that churches, chapels and meeting houses are an important part of the UK’s heritage and history and that they are also important for society as they provide a space in which community activities can take place, as well as worship. Looking to the future, our poll shows how even more people could be encouraged to visit churches. That includes making sure that visitors receive a friendly welcome and providing better facilities such as toilets, a Café or refreshment area and Wi-Fi was seen as particularly important by young adults. “

“However, the huge support for churches demonstrated by this poll will, I hope, encourage local communities and church authorities to keep their buildings open & in good repair and with the right facilities to allow greater community use for many years to come.”

Churches, chapels and meeting houses can continue to play a vital role in the life and well-being of the nation!

Chinese Toilets with Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi, ATMs and turbo-flush toilets:

China reveals its latest high-tech restrooms which could soon become commonplace

By Cheyenne MacDonald and Tracy You for Mail-on-Line

China is working hard to overhaul its public sanitation system, and it’s updating toilets with Wi-Fi, television screens, and even ATM machines. People don’t usually like to linger in public restrooms; in China, with the squat toilets, shortage of toilet paper, and sometimes unsanitary conditions, the bathroom experience can be daunting. Now, high-tech restrooms could turn public toilet-use into a more enjoyable situation. High-tech toilet developments could give Chinese bathrooms a new reputation. China is working hard to overhaul its public sanitation system, and it’s updating toilets with Wi-Fi, television screens, and even ATM machines. Chinese Toilets - Urinals and TV screensAccording to The New York Times, China will be renovating or constructing 57,000 public bathrooms, and some of them will be equipped with high-tech gadgets. In Fangshan, a new public facility has turbo-flushing powers in the toilets, along with wireless internet and TV screens in the stalls. The windows are lined with aloe vera plants, and a cello soundtrack plays in the background. The first new-generation bathroom opened to the public in November, in front of the government offices of the Fangshan District in south-west Beijing.It will even conserve water, recycling sink water to flush toilets. The event was timed to celebrate the ‘World’s Toilet Day,’ which falls on the same day, and is a part of the first ‘China Toilet Revolution Propaganda Day. For many years, China has suffered from sanitary issues in its public bathrooms. In poorer communities, 14 million people must defecate in the open. ‘Change is certainly needed,’ Lu Suisheng told NYT. ‘In some Chinese toilets, people need to step on bricks to avoid stepping on dirty areas. How can you use toilets like that?’

Chinese Toilets - Telephone UnitsAccording to the noticeboard displayed outside of the building, the spacious beige-tiled restroom has 11 different sections, including male toilets, female toilets, unisex toilets, accessible toilets, baby-changing facilities, an e-commerce area and an ATM room. The entire area has available Wi-Fi and there are vending machines selling different type of soft drinks. Each toilet or urinal is equipped with a flat-screen TV set nearby for entertaining the user. In Fangshan, a new public facility named ‘The Fifth Space,’ has turbo-flushing powers in the toilets, along with wireless internet and TV screens in the stalls. The windows are lined with aloe vera plants, and a cello soundtrack plays in the background.

The efforts to clean up the public restroom are received well by many, but some residents argue that the technological additions are a waste of money that could be put to better use elsewhere. Others argue that these new gadgets in the restrooms will lead people to spend unnecessary time on the toilet and force others to wait.
Toilet users can also buy drinks from the vending machines (left) and pay their utility bills using a multi-purpose phone. The efforts to clean up the public restroom are received well by many.

Chinese Toilets - Exterior with Charging UnitsCharging stations have been installed outside the building so that customers can leave their electric bikes to be powered while answering the call of nature.  It seems designers hope the new facility will be a meeting point for residents away from home and work. A spokesman from Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group told the People’s Daily Online that they hope the new public restroom will become ‘the fifth space’ besides the family space, work space, leisure space and cyber space. Hence, the sign of the restroom will be changed from ‘WC’, a traditional sign for public toilets in China, to the number ‘5.’

And even all the functions above are not enough in Beijing’s ambition toilet revolution. The spokesman said: ‘We will learn Japan’s experience to provide basic physical examination in the restrooms, such as blood pressure, heart rate and urinalysis.’  More of these ‘The Fifth Space’ toilets are due to open on the outskirts of Beijing soon – in Fangshan, Tongzhou, Shunyi and Pingu districts – as well as other Chinese cities, including Guiyang, Haikou, Kunming and Zhangjiakou.

THE PUBLIC SANITATION PROBLEM

  • The new bathrooms are cleaner, but some argue they are a waste of money

Chinese Toilets - InteriorChina will be renovating or constructing 57,000 public bathrooms, and some of them will be equipped with high-tech gadgets. Toilets in China, often squat toilets or concrete pits, have remained unchanged for generations. Between 1990 and 2010, China updated facilities for 593 million people, but the changes did not extend to everyone. For many years, China has suffered from sanitary issues in its public bathrooms. In poorer communities, 14 million people must defecate in the open. Many people are now arguing that unnecessary additions, like TVs, are a waste of money that could be used instead to update the facilities in poor areas.

 

 

Public Health (Wales) Bill Revised

Public Health (Wales) Bill
Expected to be laid before the Assembly again in September 2016

 Carwyn Jones has been re-elected as Welsh First Minister

Carwin Jones

Carwyn Jones has been confirmed back into the role as the First Minister of Wales. In a speech to the Assembly, Mr Jones set out priorities for his minority administration government, saying he will concentrate primarily on issues with cross-party support, following agreements with Plaid Cymru.

He said:  We will not bring forward any new legislation in the first 100 days, giving political groups in the Assembly some time to establish a new way of doing law-making in Wales. This will allow all parties to jointly develop a scrutiny and committee procedure that is better suited to this institution’s Parliamentary responsibilities.

Once the Assembly is in a position to better scrutinise legislation we will look to bring forward a new Public Health (Wales) Bill, which was proposed by the previous Minister for Health.

This Bill is asking for all Local Authorities in Wales to develop a strategy for the provision of public toilets across all electoral areas. Councils must take into consideration the continuing needs of a wide range of  user groups in addition to many thousands of visitors and tourist being encouraged to visit Wales and enjoy the experience. The BTA has been actively working with councils and government departments to support this legislation coming into existence.

First Pay Toilet

Toilet remains from ‘spend a penny’ exhibition uncovered in Hyde Park

Posted on Tuesday 7 June 2016

The remains of a 165-year-old toilet from the world famous exhibition which helped coin the phrase ‘spend a penny’ have been uncovered in London’s Hyde Park.

The discovery was made by workmen creating a new pump house as part of a major water project on the site of the former Great Exhibition of 1851. What they initially thought was a pile of underground bricks is actually believed to be one of the few structures from the temporary exhibition to have ever been uncovered.

The news comes 165 years since the Great Exhibition – the world’s first trade fair – opened in 1851 (on May 1) in Joseph Paxton’s iconic Crystal Palace, which at the time was the largest building on Earth. It attracted six million visitors and was organised by a Royal Commission, whose President was Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert.

Crystal Palace 1851 Exhibition

One of the Great Exhibition’s landmark inventions was the introduction of the UK’s first paid-for flushing public toilet, when visitors spent one penny to experience a clean toilet seat, a towel, a comb and a shoe shine. Records show that 675,000 pennies were spent. When the exhibition finished, the Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham, and the toilets were set to be closed down.

However, Brighton plumber George Jennings, who invented the palace’s toilets, persuaded the organisers to keep them open. They later went on to raise a further £1,000 a year – the equivalent to almost 250,000 toilet trips.

Edward Strickland, who is leading the project for The Royal Parks, said:

“This is a really exciting find and very timely considering it’s exactly 165 years since the Great Exhibition opened. We work very closely with archaeologists and English Heritage on projects such as this and sometimes you really don’t know what you’re going to find – and buried Victorian cess pits aren’t usually high on the list.”

Archaeologist Les Capon from AOC Archaeology Group, which works with The Royal Parks on heritage projects, said:

“What has been discovered in Hyde Park is believed to be the remains of an earth closet which were common place as toilets until the Great Exhibition of 1851. That landmark event introduced the water closet or WC, and what we now commonly call the toilet.

“The uncovered earth closet is made from London stock bricks and dates back to the mid 1850s which, with its position on the edge of the former Great Exhibition site, would suggest that it was a toilet constructed for that event.”

Nigel Williams, Secretary of the 1851 Royal Commission, which still exists today and is recognised as the lead expert on the Great Exhibition, said:

“This is a fascinating discovery that once more brings to light the extraordinary innovations that the Great Exhibition inspired.  It was the world’s first trade fair and the profits it generated – £186,000 – were used to establish the great cultural quarter in South Kensington, stretching from the Royal Albert Hall in the north down to the Natural History Museum and the V&A.

“With the remaining funds, the Commission created an educational trust which today distributes some £2.4m a year supporting research in science and engineering and other projects.”

The toilet was uncovered as The Royal Parks continue work on a project to create a new pump house near the Old Football Pitches and Tennis Centre on the southern edge of Hyde Park.

The project will see new water distribution pipework installed to supply borehole water to the lakes, irrigation systems, public toilets and the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Following a request from the Environment Agency, it will see the primary water supply for the Long Water in Kensington Gardens coming from a bore hole near the Old Football Pitches instead of from the Italian Gardens.

Mr Strickland, who has been working closely with archaeologists on the project, said: “We have more than 20 lakes and ponds, and about 15 miles of river in the Royal Parks. We are proactive in our water management by reducing leaks and our reliance on treated mains water, abstracting water responsibly and looking to harvest rain and surface water.

“We’re already re-using historic reservoirs for water storage, and by using natural underground sources we’re able to supply our lakes, and use it for irrigation and public toilets.”

As work continues on the new pump house, The Royal Parks plans to re-cover the Great Exhibition toilet to ensure this historic structure remains in place for future generations.

BBC2 DAILY POLITICS SHOW

BTA DIRECTORS APPEARANCE

On Wednesday 3rd February the BTA’s director was invited to London to make a SOAPBOX presentation and then appear on the Daily Politics Show which was transmitted LIVE that day. The BTA feature was at the end of this transmission and can be viewed at 1:22:34 if you follow the video link below. The host presenters were Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn with additional guests Therese Coffey MP, The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Chris Bryant MP, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. Due to the extended EU Reform debate the time allocated to this feature was severely restricted but the feature was seen by a very large audience. I am delighted to report that the response to this feature has been considerable.

BBC2 DAILY POLITICS SHOW 03/02/16Studio 1

The SOAPBOX item allowed us to clearly get across several messages that urgently need to be addressed to halt the accelerated decline in the number of clean, hygienic, publicly accessible toilets across the country. Having access to a toilet is about our

HEALTH & WELL-BEING
EQUALITY
SOCIAL INCLUSION
PUBLIC DIGNITY & DECENCY

For many millions of our citizens living with either a severe medical condition or a disability the urgency to find a toilet quickly and within a limited distance can be absolutely vital. Many of these individuals are suffering with IBS, Bladder and Bowel problems, dementia and conditions that severely restrict both their movements and the distances they can afford to travel – away from home.

Likewise, everyone living with or caring for individuals struggling with a disability immediately understands the extreme necessity of being able to locate and access a clean hygienic facility within a limited journey time. This is why we have created the Changing Places Mapping System for Mencap & Pamis. It allows users to both FIND and PLAN A ROUTE to nearby facilities .
www.uktoiletmap.org

But the loss of public toilets affects us all. Families with small children – or caring for older relatives, pregnant mums and older persons living independently. Everyone who commutes to and from work and including young persons travelling to school or college. It impacts anyone who travels across this wonderful country on a holiday break or to visit relatives, as well as, van and lorry drivers delivering goods and services throughout the city’s, towns and villages. We know it has a profound effect on both visitors and tourists arriving into our towns from overseas…. The list includes all of us who have a range of conditions and needs when we are outside our home environment and need relief !

ABOLISH BUSINESS RATES ON PUBLIC TOILETS

The BTA has for some time now been leading the call for government to abolish the NDR tax levied on public toilets. The total tax paid by councils is currently estimated to be around £8 million and that equates to around £2,000 per building. However, some units have applied for an exemption – so actually many units are paying considerably higher fees to subsidise the others. Whilst councils are looking to save monies and make cuts – the government could have easily helped and perhaps SAVED a number of our toilets with this simple first step. the Prime Minister DAVID CAMERON spoke to a local radio station in Cornwall last September during his last holiday visit. He was appalled to hear that the council was considering closing around 42 public toilets in the borough because of the severe cuts and pressures. He vowed to take a look and speak to his department to try and find a way to resolve the issue and avoid these closures.  Below is the link to the original story

PM David Cameron talking to reporter in Cornwall 09/15

Outside Parliament

FUTURE INVESTMENT:

As discussed, briefly,  in the show and on the trailer there are solutions to be found to these issues. We all accept that the government needs to find the fortitude, resolve and more importantly the WILL to work with councils and organisations such as the BTA to search and devise solutions for this national crisis. The continued lack of public toilets will force us back to a “third world” situation with more and more street urination and defecation causing huge problems on our streets and thoroughfares. We are already concerned about a rise in transmitted diseases from unwashed hands and work surfaces – add to that street signs & poles, car doors, walls and shop doorways. Consider the escalating costs of squads of cleansing operatives having to race around the streets and towns with disinfectant and power scrubbers to clean sidewalk stairwells and public areas where we walk and our children play.

There are solutions to be found:
NDR: Abolish the tax completely or allow BTA to reinvest these monies back into increased provision
STRATEGIES: a UK wide initiative for councils to develop a positive toilet strategy for each area
CHARGING: Raising the cost of entering these units to offset the running costs – 20p/30p/50p/£1
FRANCHISING: Using floor area to integrate a commercial business which offsets the running costs
KIOSKS: New structures could be built with integral public toilets and placed in town centres
RAIN WATER CAPTURE: using natural resources to avoid the cost of water rates/charges
ECO LIGHTING & HEATING: ground heat pumps and sensors to reduce daily running costs
SERVICE STATIONS: might be encouraged to develop/build external facilities for motorists/tourists
COMMUNITY TOILET SCHEMES: More could be done to enhance commercial partnership
BTA MAPPING: accurate information collected and displayed to allow the public to find working sites

The SOAPBOX trailer was filmed on the South Bank, close to Jubilee Gardens and permission was kindly granted to feature the wonderful Jubiloo Toilets supplied by Healthmatic Ltd.

Inside Mirror

 

BTA Members Annual General Meeting 2016

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 6th April
from 2:00pm – 2:45pm

to be held at

Manchester Cleaning Show
Event City, Phoenix Way,
Manchester,
M41 7TB

 

We are delighted to invite you to join us for a review and discussions to look at the developments and trends our organisation now faces within our toilet industry. We look forward to outlining the past twelve months and introducing some new innovative practices and products being created for future inception.

As you will already know, the BTA has achieved an extremely beneficial working partnership with both Local Government, MENCAP and PAMIS  in developing a Changing Places Toilet Map for the 800+ Changing Places toilets across the  United Kingdom. This mapping system was officially launched on Thursday 19th November 2015 ( World Toilet Day ) and we’re delighted to report that Mencap are now receiving a considerable volume of praise for the advanced elements that the new BTA system affords to their supporters and users

Subsequently the next PHASE of this project is already being developed and we are committed to rolling out a BTA Toilet Map. This complimentary system will display hopefully locate and display all accessible toilets provided by local authorities, commercial and private companies. Additionally we will be offering a package of additional membership benefits and services to enhance this innovative step

The Manchester Cleaning Show will be an ideal opportunity for members and colleagues to meet a large number of suppliers and providers

AGENDA
An agenda is curently being prepared and will be posted to all members 21 days prior to the meeting

This event is very kindly supported by our BTA Corporate Champions:

logo_danfo_100x39        logo_healthmatic_20121108_100x30

We all look forward to welcoming you all to the Cleaning Show