A Brentwood startup is using high-tech features to change the way public bathrooms work and they’ve already set up a pilot run on the Route 1 corridor.
Throne Labs makes a portable, solar-powered bathroom with flushable toilets, fresh water for washing your hands and robust ventilation systems. To enter, you type in your cell phone number and respond to a text.
The tech aspect helps the company keep track of when the bathroom needs to be cleaned — about once every 30 uses — or when it needs to have water tanks refilled — about once every 100 uses.
Sensors can also track if someone has been in the bathroom for too long, and people who don’t use the bathroom properly can have their phone number banned.
“You don’t have to pay someone to sit there all the time, but you still get the benefit of the accountability that creates, and the remote ability to say, ‘Hey, something needs attention, something’s not right,’” COO Jessica Heinzelman said.
Earlier this month, the city of Mount Rainier installed a Throne bathroom just off the roundabout on Rhode Island Avenue at the Perry Street Park and Ride Lot for use by people walking by and waiting for the bus.
Throne is looking to add 25 to 50 more bathrooms around the D.C. area over the next year, including new versions with a skylight and changing table.
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Throne Labs does not currently have an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible street toilet. So, how is it possible that the City of Mount Rainier installed one of their toilets without first ensuring its accessibility to people with disabilities? This is a clear violation of the ADA’s requirements for accessible new construction and non-discrimination on the basis of disability in a city’s programs and services. I urge the City to either remove the toilet or find an accessible toilet. Accessible street toilets have been on the market for at least 20 years.
Thanks Marsha for your comment. You raise a great point, but they are just in the pilot stage and Throne Labs is currently working on portable, solar-powered ADA accessible bathrooms.
Trust me Allison, there is nothing in the AADA regulations that permits public entities to discriminate on the basis of disability if it is only for a short time or a pilot project. That reasoning sounds a lot like the excuses non-disabled persons make when they park illegally in accessible spaces “just for a minute”.
Is ANYone concerned with the fact that this toilet exist exclusively to exclude poor people that need to use the facilities? This is just another gentrifying tool. More tools for otherness and exclusion, certainly NOT what we need in our communities. This should not be celebrated. Public spaces are and should remain public.
Oh good grief! I just noticed that the City located their inaccessible toilet in the accessible parking space reserved for people with disabilities. This is a real slap in the face for anyone who values civil and disability rights!