By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Public toilets across the country will be mapped as the city-based organisation Recycle Bin scales up its endeavour to document toilets. The first phase will be implemented by documenting the ‘disturbances’ suffered at toilets in every nook and cranny of the country. It will be done by the public, in a crowdsourced attempt, through the re-launched version of the Kakkoos app developed by the organisation. Countrywide mapping is in continuation with what the organisation initiated in the capital city where they mapped over 120 public toilets. The exercise which had the participation of the crowd, could map over 100 toilets in the initial week of its launch, an attempt that paved the way to analysing the usability of public toilets. “Every person has a terrible public toilet story. In the exercise we conducted in the city, it was observed that there wasn’t even one toilet that could get exceptional rating. Except for a few toilets, which numbered just below 10, none of them was found to be in good condition,” said Ganga Dileep C, architect and urban designer who founded Recycle Bin. Post the toilet documentation, the team observed that just a fraction of the total toilets remained in usable condition and the accessibility to women was also very limited. “We found a toilet where a tea shack owner was storing food, another one which was used as a smoking joint. So we are trying to see what would be the plight of the public toilets across the country,” she said. Toilets will be geotagged and the people will be able to upload pictures and rate them on the app. The four major aspects in which the toilets will be analysed include accessibility, visibility, hygiene and security. Once the mapping is complete, the behavioural analysis as well as government interventions required will be pursued and thereby effect a change in the way toilets are perceived and implement a good toilet culture. “It is not just about the presence of toilets, rather there is no monitoring body to ensure that the toilets are maintained properly. Once the Engineering Wing hands over the toilet, then none is tasked with ensuring that toilets remain in usable condition. In fact, they should be handed over to the Health Department. So apart from initiating policy-level interventions, we hope to address the behavioural aspect as well,” said Ganga.A newsletter titled ‘Statement’ is being released every month by the organisation to discuss the various aspects of the issue.

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