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World toilet summit lifts lid on public hygiene
Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:02 PM ET
BELFAST (Reuters) - Delegates to the annual World Toilet Summit in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast could be forgiven for feeling flushed this week after sitting down for a three-day debate on the finer points of public sanitation.
Some 350 experts at the summit, which ended Thursday, discussed such pressing subjects as anti-social behavior in rest-rooms, portable toilets, and facilities for the blind.
"A lot was achieved, including the finalization of a protocol setting out global standards for the provision and hygiene of public toilets," Raymond Martin, director of the Irish Toilet Association, told Reuters.
Other highlights of the summit included the launch of a "Bog Standard Campaign" to push for better toilets in UK schools, and the unveiling of Belfast's first public UriLift toilet, a stainless steel urinal that rises hydraulically out of the ground at night to facilitate male revelers.
In terms of public toilet excellence, it was generally agreed that Singapore was a model for the rest of the world, with the UK somewhere around the middle of the league table.
Martin said that with hundreds of toilet experts gathered in one place lavatorial humor was unavoidable.
"But what you actually find is that when the punning and joking is over people actually take toilets very seriously. It's a subject that's close to everyone's heart."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...5Z_01_EIC964873_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-TOILETS.xml
Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:02 PM ET
BELFAST (Reuters) - Delegates to the annual World Toilet Summit in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast could be forgiven for feeling flushed this week after sitting down for a three-day debate on the finer points of public sanitation.
Some 350 experts at the summit, which ended Thursday, discussed such pressing subjects as anti-social behavior in rest-rooms, portable toilets, and facilities for the blind.
"A lot was achieved, including the finalization of a protocol setting out global standards for the provision and hygiene of public toilets," Raymond Martin, director of the Irish Toilet Association, told Reuters.
Other highlights of the summit included the launch of a "Bog Standard Campaign" to push for better toilets in UK schools, and the unveiling of Belfast's first public UriLift toilet, a stainless steel urinal that rises hydraulically out of the ground at night to facilitate male revelers.
In terms of public toilet excellence, it was generally agreed that Singapore was a model for the rest of the world, with the UK somewhere around the middle of the league table.
Martin said that with hundreds of toilet experts gathered in one place lavatorial humor was unavoidable.
"But what you actually find is that when the punning and joking is over people actually take toilets very seriously. It's a subject that's close to everyone's heart."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...5Z_01_EIC964873_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-TOILETS.xml
