The Cleanliness Patrols visited public toilets twice – in the summer and in the autumn. They evaluated the standard of 400 places and conducted educational interviews there, which means that they expanded their range by 50%. Moreover, the list of visited places included new urban spots: shopping galleries and centres, as well as cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. The first results of the campaign are already coming in, with 80% of all toilets deserving the title “Clean Toilet”; a better result than a year ago.
The Cleanliness Patrol is an educational action conducted as part of the Toaleta2012.pl campaign (www.toaleta2012.pl). The aim of the campaign is to improve the standard of Polish toilets before Euro 2012, which is being co-organised by Poland. This is why every year the Cleanliness Patrols, two-person teams of trained auditors wearing distinctive white overalls, visit the toilets in railway stations, airports, restaurants and other places which tourists and football funs are expected to visit in 2012. Apart from that, cultural facilities, such as museums or theatres, are also evaluated. The campaign is carried out in Warszawa, Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk, which are the cities that will be hosting the Euro 2012 matches, as well as in Kraków and Chorzów.
The Patrols evaluated the standard of hygiene and equipment in toilets with the use of a special questionnaire. Then, on the basis of their results, the Cleanliness Patrols conducted educational interviews with people responsible for the toilets. The “Clean Toilet” badge was awarded to toilets that received at least 65 points. What are the requirements to reach this magical point? The toilet should be well-marked, clean, well-kept and odour-free. It should be equipped with toilet paper, soap and towel dispensers, as well as an air freshener and a dustbin. Additional points were awarded for touchless solutions – water taps, WC flush, dispensers; ladies’ hygiene boxes or surface sanitisers for the disinfection of toilet seats; as well as toilets adjusted to the needs of parents (baby changing tables) and the disabled people.
In total, a toilet could receive 100 points, which could be awarded to an ideal, clean, nice-smelling and fully equipped toilet. This year, two out of over 400 toilets received the maximum number of points – a toilet at the Milk and Co. restaurant in Kraków (for the second time), and the “Gruba Kaśka” Pizza Hut restaurant in Warsaw.
The unquestionable leader among cities is Kraków where as much as 73 out of 100 points have been achieved during the three editions. Gdańsk and Chorzów are the cities where the average number of points in all editions is the lowest.
During the three editions of the campaign, out of all categories of places, the most number of points were awarded to airports (76 points on average in three years) and commercial objects: shopping galleries (73 points) and petrol stations (72 points), while the lowest number of points were awarded to railway stations (only 50 points) and public toilets, the so-called city toilets (63 points). However, there are exceptions to the rule.
Toilets in railway stations is a category that goes to extremes. These were best assessed in Gdańsk, while the least number of points was awarded in Kraków. What is interesting is that the bus station in Kraków in the second and the third editions of the campaign received 90 points, while the main railway station in Kraków offers visitors a toilet that has not yet been renovated in which toilet paper is dispensed by a lady working there.
Kraków restores its reputation thanks to the toilets in its airport, which received the largest number of points in the whole country. At the airport in Balice, the toilets are equipped with toothpaste dispensers and a baby changing table. Almost as many points (85) were awarded to the toilet at the Warsaw Chopin Airport.
Traditionally, toilets in restaurants are assessed well. In the Eszeweria restaurant in Kraków, there are candles, incense sticks and flowers in the toilet. Flowers are also a pleasant surprise in the toilet of a McDonald’s restaurant on Bażyńskiego Street. Unfortunately, there is also a toilet in the Duszek bar (only 25 points on average), which lacks the basic equipment and in which the Cleanliness Patrols discovered cobwebs on the walls.
The results from cultural facilities that were checked for the first time were in general satisfying – in the whole country, they received nearly 70 points. The highest marks were given to the toilets at the Bonarka Cinema City in Kraków, Kraków Philharmonic and the Arkadia cinema in Warsaw.
There are still too few public toilets though, and their standards leave a lot to be desired. However, there are also notable exceptions in this category. The public toilet on Krzywe Koło Street in Warsaw smells nice and is decorated with artificial flowers and paintings. Also, a public toilet under the Rotunda received great marks. Visitors can expect toilet seat covers and a shoe polisher. The standard of such facilities improves in other cities too.
This fact is emphasised by Michał Sowa, the administrator of public toilets in Wrocław, who also draws attention to the fact that the Toaleta 2012.pl campaign encouraged him to introduce new solutions in the public toilets in Wrocław, such as installing boards with price lists in four languages. ‘Thanks to the campaign, I’ve introduced touchless taps in the Solny and Katedralny markets; in some of the toilets we’re also going to install baby changing tables,’ says Sowa.
‘Our campaign brings about improvements,’ says Andrzej Smółko, CEO of CWS-boco Poland. ‘Examples? The public toilet under the Rotunda in Warsaw received really poor notes in the previous edition, and this year it was awarded 90 points. This year two toilets in Poland received the maximum number of points, while last year there was only one such place. The condition of toilets is improving. In this year’s edition, 80% of public toilets passed our test and deserved the “Clean Toilet” badges. Keep it up.’