WASHROOM GOING GLOBAL
Western washrooms have entered the technological age with automatic taps, hands-free soaps and “connected” dispensers appearing in public toilets everywhere. Meanwhile, many communities in the developing world have no access to toilets whatsoever. Jamie Wright from Tork manufacturer SCA, considers these contrasts and attempts to visualise the washrooms of tomorrow.
The world is becoming smaller all the time. As international chains of hotels, restaurants and superstores expand their reach around the globe we can now go virtually anywhere and stay in a familiar environment or shop at a household-name store.
We are also able to access a mobile phone signal from some of the remotest places on Earth - and the chances are we will not be far from a McDonald’s or a Starbucks when we do. But despite this increasing uniformity, there is one area of our lives that seems to have slipped through the globalisation net; the washrooms of the world are still divided.
There is no denying the fact that hygienic toilets are crucial to public health. The UN General Assembly declared that access to sanitation was a basic human right in 2010 and called for international efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable sanitation to every country across the globe.
For most of us, this is a no-brainer. However when a joint study was carried out in 2015 by the World Health Organisation and Unicef it emerged that nearly one third of the population have no access to toilets. This means that many people around the world are being forced to relieve themselves in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water.
This seems incredible in today’s society, particularly since at the other end of the spectrum we are developing washrooms that are increasingly high-tech.
Automated taps, flushes and soap dispensers are appearing everywhere as washroom providers attempt to avoid any risk of cross-
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contamination that could potentially lead to illness.
In Japan, the technological revolution has progressed even further. Toilets with bidet functions have become relatively standard, while one toilet manufacturer - Toto – has developed a lavatory that automatically opens the lid when the user approaches and closes it when they leave. The Neorest 750H also warms the seat before use and sanitises itself afterwards using ultraviolet light.
Some Japanese loos even incorporate medical sensors that measure sugar in the urine and take the visitor’s pulse, blood pressure and body fat content readings. Toilet developers are looking to take this further and use a built-in internet-capable
cellular telephone to send this data automatically to a doctor.
Meanwhile in China, public washrooms are beginning to incorporate everyday technology in order to help users continue their daily lives in the loo. For example the new Fifth Space toilet facility in Beijing features vending machines, ATMs, wifi and electric scooter charging stations.
We at Tork have made our own strides to bring the away-from- home washroom in line with the modern age. Our latest system – Tork EasyCube – enables cleaning staff to monitor paper and soap refill levels in “connected” dispensers via their tablet or smartphone.
While this may not be as headline- grabbing as automatic-opening lids or
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