Mobile Toilet Matters

Mobile toilets are facilities that can be moved as a whole and provide toilet services to the public. They have advantages such as mobility, modularity, and ease of transportation, but management issues during use also need attention.

Definition and Composition of Mobile Toilets

Mobile toilets refer to facilities that can be moved as a whole and are set up in fixed or temporary locations to provide toilet services to the public and customers. They generally consist of fecal sewage storage tanks (or fecal sewage treatment devices), floor slabs, sanitary ware, walls, washing equipment, water tanks, roofs, and mobile devices.

Classification of Mobile Toilets

According to structural form, they can be divided into single-structure mobile toilets and composite-structure mobile toilets. According to the method of movement, they can be divided into hoisting and handling mobile toilets, and powered and towed mobile toilets. According to sewage treatment methods, they can be divided into water-flushing and waterless suction-type mobile toilets, circulating water-flushing mobile toilets, and dry-packing mobile toilets.

Characteristics and Origin of Mobile Toilets

Their characteristic is that they can be conveniently transported to any location where toilets need to be set up and can be used repeatedly. They have advantages such as mobility, modularity, and ease of transportation. They originated from the temporary and periodic demand for toilets in certain situations. Due to the shortage and improper layout of urban public toilets, the government has placed mobile public toilets in areas where it is relatively difficult to build fixed public toilets to make up for the shortage of public toilet supply and the unreasonable layout. For example, mobile toilets were gradually installed and put into use in the scenic area along the Yellow River in Lanzhou in 2023.

Design Principles of Mobile Toilets

The design of mobile toilets should follow the principles of mobility and convenience, economic durability; environmental protection and ecological friendliness, beneficial to the environment; improving efficiency and promoting humanity.

Issues in the Use of Mobile Toilets

An incident occurred during the use of mobile toilets. For example, a woman entered a mobile toilet, and then the toilet was loaded onto a highway by a vehicle. The reasons are as follows: First, the vehicle driver did not carefully check to ensure that there was no one in the mobile toilet when loading goods. Second, the management of the mobile toilet was lax, lacking a perfect inspection mechanism. For example, no one checked whether there was anyone in the toilet after each use, and no obvious warning signs were set up. This incident caused physical and psychological trauma to the woman. The driver may face legal liability and economic compensation, and the reputation of the management party will also be affected. However, mobile toilets also play a positive role in special scenarios. For example, mobile toilets are placed outside examination venues during the college entrance examination to facilitate candidates and their parents, and sanitation workers ensure the cleanliness of the toilets.