Mechelen launches country’s first ecological urinal
Tired of fighting public urination, the city of Mechelen has placed a GreenPee, which turns urine into fertiliser, in one of its most troublesome streets
Recycling your pee
Public urination is illegal in Flanders, and those who are caught are fined €350. But catching men in the act is, of course, very difficult.
GreenPee, a Dutch product, is itself a large pot for plants, with a urinal on the front. The urine is absorbed by hemp fibres, composted and becomes fertiliser, which will be used on the city’s plants and trees.
The structure is in a test phase, and if it proves successful in cutting down on public urination in the neighbourhood, it will be kept and more ordered. GreenPee costs €3,500. “We’ll use fines paid for public urination to pay for a second one,” city councillor Richard De Vries told Gazet van Antwerpen. “That way, the system pays for itself.”
Photo: Mechelen rolls out the red carpet for GreenPee
©Katleen Vastiau/BELGA
