British Toilet Association
- Britain's public toilets were once the envy of the world
- In recent years, significant number of public toilets have been closed down
- We need more and better toilets
- Let's stop the rot
Our mission is to represent the interest and aspirations of 'away from home' toilet providers, suppliers and users of all types and to act as the catalyst for change inthe pursuit of standards of excellence in all areas of public toilet provision and management.
BTA CONFERENCE AND AGM - WEDNESDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2010
See news item below for more details
BTA Conference and AGM - Wednesday 15th September 2010
We invite you to attend the BTA Conference on Wednesday 15th September at The Stratford Hotel Stratford on Avon which will be of interest to all BTA Members and other organisations and companies that are involved with any aspect of ‘away from home’ toilet provision.
A loo with a view?
After increasing numbers of public urination in Manchester, ‘pee pods’ have been introduced to reduce people revealing themselves in the street.
Baby Changing Facilities For Kent Mums “Horrendous”
Many baby changing facilities for Mums in Kent are “horrendous” or non-existent, according to a survey carried out by Kent Cleaning Solutions (http://www.Kentcleaningsolutions.co.uk)
Card helps people access toilets
The Bladder and Bowel Foundation has produced a ‘Just Can’t Wait’ toilet card for patients to help them gain access to toilet facilities that may otherwise not be available.
Bar owner defends toilet CCTV move
THE owners of a new bar have defended their decision to install a CCTV camera in the men’s toilets.
A customer complained to The Gazette after spotting the camera in the toilet at Pure Lounge Bar which opened in Wote Street, Basingstoke last month.
UK Schools Call for Minimum Standards for Toilets
Sub-standard toilets; smelly, missing locks and lack of toilet paper reported in 1 in 4 state schools, says research
A survey of 160 UK schools and 49 school and specialist nurses, including Nursing Times readers, has prompted a universal call for a minimum standard for school toilet facilities.
Public Toilet Closures
Facts about public toilets in Wales
Age Cymru has unveiled the findings of new research into public toilet closures. Their findings are listed in this article.
Campaigner cycles length of Wales over lack of loos
Public toilets are becoming increasingly rare on the streets of the UK
A councillor has cycled the length of Wales to raise awareness about what she says is a severe lack of public toilets.
After riding 153 miles from Gwynedd to Cardiff, Louise Hughes is meeting AMs to ask for an improvement.
Continence experts demand clarity over Ryanair’s toilet proposals
Some of the UKs leading Continence experts, surgeons, nurses and patient groups have expressed their concerns at Ryanair’s proposals to reduce the number of toilets on board their aircrafts and to charge passengers to use them. Clarity is called for in light of the contradictory stories running in the press.
It is estimated that a quarter of the adult population (one in four of us) has a bladder control problem and one in ten has a bowel control problem often requiring frequent and urgent visits to the toilet.
BTA Consultation Service
Each year we visit many hundreds of public toilets throughout the UK, provided by both local authorities and other operators. Over the years we have built up a unique fund of practical experience, covering every aspect of toilet provision and operation - and most importantly this knowledge is centred on the views and requirements of the user.
Through Loo of the Year Awards, promoted by BTA, our vision is that every 'away from home' toilet, certainly every Local Authority public toilet, will receive an annual independent assessment and appropriate star rating.
In the meantime, the BTA is ready and able to visit any type of provider - Local Authority or commercial as well as health, education and hospitality establishments, to discuss current standards of provision, future strategy and issues relevant to design, layout, product and service needs, security and maintenance - as well as marketing or revenue generating opportunities.
This service provides impartial, independent advice at a realistic cost which is discounted for BTA members. For more information (add link to BTA Consultation Service section of About BTA tab of BTA Website)
More new BTA Members
BTA welcomes Central Bedfordshire Council (English Unitary Authority), The Urostomy Association and Vectair Systems (Commercial Company) as new members.
The Urostomy Association are a national support group for people with urinary diversion.
Vectair Systems Ltd manufacture and supply a wide range of hygiene products in the Air care, Washroom, Infant Care and Flying Insect Control Sectors including odour control dispensers, chemical dosing systems, and hand care products.
Student gets stuck down toilet
A Chinese student had to be rescued by firefighters after he got his arm stuck down a toilet trying to retrieve his mobile phone. The student had dropped his phone while playing with it on the loo - and decided on desperate action to try to get it back.
Toto - we're not on normal toilets any more
Washlet lavatories from Japan show the future of the bathroom.
The Neorest toilet at Toto, St Johns' Street, London, has an automatic lid.
A quiet and achingly stylish hygiene revolution kicked off in the bowels of a shop in east London today, where rows of futuristic white pods crouched patiently, hoping to attract the attention of passing buttocks.
What students want from college toilets
Consult students about what they really want in college and what do they say? Classy toilets.
Students at South Birmingham College are proud to call their place bog standard since they are able to boast that their toilets may outclass any in the most opulent hotels of the city.
Plea to re-open city centre toilets
AROUND 5,500 people are backing a campaign to get closed public toilets in Newport city centre reopened.
Traders started a petition two weeks ago urging to council to open the Austin Friars loos after they were closed as part of budget cuts on April 1.
They say they have been overwhelmed by the support of shoppers and workers who have signed the petition, which they hope to hand in to the council the next council meeting.
TWIT T-LOO...
Northumberland coastal village toilet exhibits giant eight foot tall bird bill-boards...
Yesterday (Thursday 29 April) the exterior walls of a public lavatory in the Northumberland coastal village of Seahouses, became an unlikely location for the region's latest piece of public art.
Poor station toilets to meet their Waterloo -
But passengers will have to spend more than a penny
Standards: Chris Green has called on rail companies to improve the quality of toilets at train stations
Rail passengers boarding 21st century trains are forced to endure 19th century-standard toilets, Britain's stations 'tsar' told rail bosses yesterday.
Passengers to clean airline toilets
Complex merger talks now underway between United Airlines, Continental Airlines and US Airways include a landmark cost-cutting measure that will require passengers to clean the aircraft cabin and lavatories before leaving the plane.
“These discussions are all about finding efficiencies,” said an airline source close to the ongoing negotiations. “The fact is passengers are already onboard the plane. Why bring on a separate cleaning crew when passengers can pitch in and get it done faster and cheaper?”
Unequal toilet provision
Have you ever wondered why you have to queue for a toilet, when men waltz in and out within a minute?
You may rightly believe that it is because women take longer to use the facilities (twice as long in fact) but were you aware that until now, women actually got fewer toilet facilities than men when buildings were designed?
This is because men get urinals as well as cubicles, it being forgotten that WCs are women’s urinals
Spotting toilet related health problems in children
A survey of 5 – 16 year olds attending Sheffield Children’s Hospital paediatric outpatient clinics over a four-week period, found that over half avoided using school toilets, with around a quarter prepared to use them only if desperate.
This toilet avoidance can lead to children ‘hanging on’ and only using the toilet when they get home which for young bladders and bowels can be a damaging daily occurrence. Frequent ‘hanging on’ can lead to toilet related health problems such as constipation and wetting. Day and night-time wetting and soiling (leakage when constipated) effect more than one in 12 (about 750,000) five to 16 year olds in the UK.
Where Can I Go? Campaign launched
The new BTA ‘Where can I go?’ Campaign was launched to BTA members at the BTA Conference held at the Stratford Hotel, Stratford upon Avon on 16th September 2009.
The Campaign recognises the need for BTA to change focus from a ‘top down’ approach -directed primarily at Central Government, to a ‘bottom up’ approach’ – directed primarily at local government – (and commercial providers) the actual source, and we believe, the authority responsible for provision of publicly accessible toilets.
Find out more about the campaign in the Where Can I Go section ...