Damn, my bladder is making itself known again. And you’re out and about, shopping or traveling. Then you feel a little disgusted in public toilets. If you can find one.
That was nothing. “Out of service” is written on one public toilet in a district of Karlsruhe, another in the center swallows the coins but then neither opens the door nor gives the money back.
Then we go to a public toilet in a department store. If you have the time. Because it doesn’t open until 9.30, an old lady is already waiting with her friend. Not to shop, but to go to the toilet. “It’s not always easy to find a toilet when you’re out and about,” she says. It smells bad, but looks fairly clean. 70 cents and then off you go.
It is unclear how many public toilets there are in Germany. There are “toilet finder apps” that list well over 100,000 locations. Cities and municipalities either operate them themselves or have them looked after by external companies. There are also private operators or shops and bars that make their toilets available to passers-by for a fee.
Public toilets cost cities a lot of money
In any case, it is not exactly a cheap affair for the cities and municipalities. Berlin spends around 17 million euros per year on the 380 or so public toilets it manages. The remaining 100 are operated by other providers, according to a spokesman for the responsible Senate administration.
It costs the state capital Stuttgart around 3.4 million euros per year to maintain its more than 70 toilet facilities. From 2025, all of them are to be free for users. So far, this has only been the case for some of the toilets. Freiburg spends around 600,000 euros a year on its 13 toilet facilities, according to a city spokesperson. Many cities complain about vandalism and pollution, far beyond the usual level, according to Stuttgart, Freiburg and Karlsruhe.
Are there enough public toilets?
According to a spokeswoman for the city of Stuttgart, the toilets in the capital of Baden-Württemberg are sufficient. “We don’t see any need for more toilets,” she explains. Berlin, on the other hand, speaks of areas where there are certainly undersupplied toilets, for example in the area of bathing lakes, parks and green spaces.
Especially in rural areas, the provision is often inadequate, adds Matthias Zeisberger from the “Incontinence Self-Help” association. Usually, toilets in shops or public facilities are only open at certain times. “There is definitely a need for action, especially in rural areas,” he says.
“There are definitely not enough public toilets in Germany,” says a spokeswoman for “klo:lektiv,” an association of people who, in their own words, want to bring the issue more into public debate. The offer is not nationwide and is often neglected or even forgotten in tight budgets.
There is a lack of awareness “that toilets are an absolutely essential part of urban infrastructure”. In contrast to other public facilities such as swimming pools, toilets are in poor condition.
Approaches to expand the toilet offering
In order to save costs and provide additional services, many towns and communities across Germany are using the “Nice Toilet” concept. It was developed in 2002 by an agency in collaboration with the Baden-Württemberg town of Aalen. Around 300 municipalities in Germany and Switzerland are now using this option, according to a spokeswoman for the service project.
The restaurants provide toilets free of charge, even for non-guests. In return, the city contributes to the costs. According to a city spokeswoman, Aalen, for example, pays around 1,500 euros a month to the 19 participating businesses. “On average, the upkeep and maintenance costs of one public toilet can finance twelve ‘nice toilets’,” says the spokeswoman for the “Nice Toilet” initiative. They are usually cleaner too.
Cleanliness of public toilets often leaves much to be desired
The condition of public toilets is often a problem. Not only because of the disgust factor, but because people with certain health impairments are exposed to a significant health risk there, says Zeisberger.
For the average user, health risks are negligible, says Rostock hygienist Andreas Podbielski. “I really don’t want to downplay the toilet situation, but the chance of catching something there is lower than in a restaurant,” he says.
It is also unlikely that you will catch a sexually transmitted disease there. When it comes to pathogens on the toilet door handle, Podbielski also recommends taking a more relaxed approach: “You might not touch the door handle in a public toilet, but you might touch another door handle a little later. You don’t know what germs are on it.”