Doncaster roads and parks 'littered with bottles of urine' due to public toilet closures

There have been numerous reports from across the county of ‘fly peeing’ – people urinating in plastic bottles and then dumping it at the side of the road or beauty spots due to public loos as well as toilets in pubs, cafes and shops being shut.

Waste management company BusinessWaste.co.uk says it is hearing reports of people turning local beauty spots into public bathrooms, and increasing numbers of bottles of urine appearing along main UK roads.

Locally, motorways, including the M1, M18 and A1 have been worst hit while beauty spots like the Peak District as well as local parks have also fallen victim to dumped bottles.

“Easing of lockdown measures means that people are venturing out for day trips, but unfortunately many councils haven’t reopened their public toilet facilities due to social distancing measures,” said company spokesman Mark Hall.

“Instead, people are fly-tipping UK roads with bottles of wee – perhaps we ought to rename this environmental crime fly-peeing.”

One group that has been a constant on our roads during the lockdown are the delivery drivers who have been delivering essential items up and down the country, but Business Waste has heard from many admitting they have resorted to using plastic bottles as a substitute toilet.

Many truckers are concerned about not being unable to stop due to a lack of open facilities, or being too frightened to stop at services and potentially risk catching Covid-19.

And that's led to the hideous sight of plastic bottles full of pee in laybys up and down the country. And to be fair, it's not only truck drivers, but regular drivers too.

Trucker Mark Taylor of Addingham said: “I’m old and my bladder isn’t as strong as it once was, but I haven’t been able to stop for a wee because most services have been shut.

“I’ve had to pee in my Lucozade bottle, but it tends to get a bit smelly in the cab, so I’ve thrown a few bottles out of the window.”

But not all drivers are participating in this behaviour, with delivery driver Eric saying: “I've got a plastic-free reusable bottle that cost me twenty pounds – I would have to be really desperate to use that for a urinal and throw that kind of money away.

"Just pick your spot and go behind a tree, like normal people."

Mark Hall said: “Just because the toilets are shut and desperate times are leading to desperate measures, we still need to not be adding to the plastic pollution problem by chucking bottles out of the window.”

"Some for waste disposal operative's got to go out and pick up all those stinking bottles. Take your litter home, you animals."

“Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to biodegrade, so if you’re chucking one out of the car window full of wee it could be sitting there for years,” he added.

One of many reports comes from a care-worker in Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, who says she has had to battle countless people urinating and defecating in public, with several incidences happening against her garden fence.

One lady in a resort in Dorset says: “People are travelling the length of the country for a day at the beach, meanwhile those of us who live here have to put up with the horrible sights and smells they leave behind. I found human poo in my front garden, and next door found a bottle full of wee in his recycling bin.”

Added Mr Hall: We're not the police, but we have to remind people that it is illegal to be caught urinating in public, and that if you’re seen in the act you could be done for indecent exposure too.

“All I can suggest is what I tell the kids - make sure you’ve been to the toilet before you go out. Or tie a knot in it.”