Foreign Affairs

Paris Creates ‘Eco-Friendly’ Urinals On Streets

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Paris created “eco-friendly” public urinals on the city streets causing negative reactions from residents.

Residents and business owners are annoyed that the environmentally friendly urinals called “Uritrottoirs” are popping up at the popular tourist site Île Saint-Louis island, Reuters reported Monday. Parisians started a petition demanding that the urinals are taken down, according to Le Parisien.

“There’s no need to put something so immodest and ugly in such an historic spot,” said Paola Pellizzari, 68, a Venetian art store owner, according to Reuters.

Pellizzari added that there is a public urinal by the school, claiming that it “incites exhibitionism.”

Gwendoline Coipeault from the feminist group Femmes Solidaires added that the urinals are sexist.

“They have been installed on a sexist proposition: men cannot control themselves [from the bladder point of view] and so all of society has to adapt,” said Coipeault. “It’s absurd, no one needs to urinate in the street.”

The French urinals consist of a box with an opening in the front and a floral display, according to its website. The urinals are considered more environmentally friendly since the waste changes into compost for different plants and gardens.

“If we don’t do anything, then men are just going to pee in the streets,” said Paris Mayor Ariel Weil. “If it is really bothering people, we will find another location.”