Having a clean public toilet is a long-lost dream of every Indian citizen today. However, a startup has come up with an idea that change this dream into reality.
A Maryland-based startup called Throne Labs started app-based public restrooms that only let you in with a QR code that also tracks if you have left a mess behind.
According to a report by The Washingtonian, the company said that it was solving a real issue that had been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic: too few public bathrooms, which tend to affect those without housing, young children, or those with disabilities the most.
"Very few people create issues in [public] bathrooms, don’t respect that amenity, and then ruin it for the majority," Throne Labs COO Jessica Heinzelman told the news website.
So how does this work?
The user will have to first download the app and find the location of the bathrooms. Once they find the bathroom the user will have to scan the QR code to open it. Inside, the users would find a flushable toilet, a flushless urinal, a sink, a trash can, a robust ventilation system, and a mirror, the report stated.
“The sanitation industry is one of those that has not really been touched by much innovation and disruption,” Heinzelman added.
Apart from looking at the innovative side, practically thinking, the app would conveniently exclude the people who likely need a public restroom the most, people who don’t own a smartphones or the ones who are homeless.
The company is also considering tap-to-enter cards for people without smartphones and hopes to partner with non-profits that serve people without housing.