Zurich Public Toilet manages a range of toilets, including those that are secluded or less secluded along the 3-kilometer-long lake shoreline. Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, is making a determined effort to change the bad image of public toilets. Zurich is proud of its public health facilities; the city wants people to think of them, to talk about them, to have an opinion on them. Their addresses and phone numbers are also published. Each public toilet also has a small blue “ZüriWC” logo to create a unified overall identity between the styles.
Today, the 94 public health facilities managed by Zurich Public Toilets have a variety of appearances, from the staid stone buildings of the late 19th century to the brightly colored synthetic toilets newly built in the 21st century. Six are listed as historic monuments, while the others are of the latest design – compact unisex sanitary facilities with automatic hand-washing equipment and easy-to-clean chrome.
Zurich Public Toilet has always advocated that public toilets should be integrated with the surrounding environment, even if the maintenance costs of old public toilets are higher. Whether a toilet is newly built or refurbished, equipment for the disabled will be installed. Disabled people can apply for a “European key” that opens toilet doors in all participating European countries. Without such a key, the use of these specialized equipment costs 1 CHF. But public toilets in Zurich will remain free and open to the public, Bruno said.
He believes that it is everyone’s right to use well-kept toilet facilities. Many once-unsafe toilets have also been improved: entrances have been remodeled to make them more visible, or new lighting has been added.
