With Covid-19 cases decreasing, the city of Amsterdam was excited to start moving out of lockdown, but more people out and about meant the resurgence of an old problem: public urination. Fortunately, the city found a green way to address this unwanted behavior with GreenPee hemp-filled public urinals.
The urinals look like oddly shaped planter beds with openings on the sides. The urinal is filled with hemp fibers from the cannabis plant which can be used for organic fertilizer for the city’s parks, roof gardens, and urban farms when emptied from the planter.
The eco-friendly public service device was first introduced in 2018. Now eight of these planters reside on city streets around Amsterdam. The devices have reduced public urination on city streets by 50 percent.
Saturation levels on the GreenPee urinals can be checked manually or by using a smart sensor. The urinal does not require flushing, so it also saves water, and the plants that top it makes for microhabitats for insects in the bustling city.
Given the environmental and public health successes of the GreenPee urinals, the city hopes to install more in the near future. The company has even come up with a slimmer design that can be placed in alleyways or narrow streets. This is a great solution for cities and the planet. We hope to see the model adopted in metropolitan areas around the world in the near future!
