Open Post: Hosted By The Netherlands’ Hemp-Filled Public Urinals
Who doesn’t love a good pee story with a happy ending (not THAT kind of happy ending)? Officials in Amsterdam are installing public urinals throughout the city in an effort to curb a spike in public peeing incidents. The Dutch company in charge of manufacturing the huge mobile toilets, Urban Senses, have actually put down 12 GreenPee urinals throughout the city in areas that have been identified by local officials as hotspots for public pissings––or “wild peeing” as the Europeans call it. (Euro-pee-ing…I know there’s a joke in there somewhere)…
The project, which has apparently been in place since 2018, began with 4 units and has grown to 12 in total. According to the inventor, Richard de Vries:
“The result was there was a 50% reduction in wild peeing,..It was a great success.”
According to UPI, these GreenPee urinals look like giant planters filled with hemp. Richard said the urinals offer a sustainable alternative to traditional public urinals, as they use less water and create green spaces for bees and other insects (let’s hope there are no bees around when the planter is getting filled with a fresh deposit).
Not only that, the GreenPees produce organic fertilizer and water for the plants. And, as an alternate offering to people who have to go in a hurry and opt to pee on the side of buildings, the units prevent erosion and even death––because apparently a number of people die each year after drunkenly falling into canals looking for a place to piss.
It’s kind of funny (and sad) to note that while the US took away mailboxes from the streets, the Dutch put out more mailbox-lookin’ devices that people can actually take a leak into. It’s very progressive. And green––well, more like a yellow-y green depending on how much water you’ve drank.
Pic: Instagram