Chemical toilets on the beach: how many are needed and who is responsible for their management

Chemical toilets on the beach: how many are needed and who is responsible for their management

Chemical toilets on the beach: have you ever really thought about the need for them?

Despite what one might think, the presence of chemical toilets on the beach is regulated. Behind their placement there are precise rules, clear responsibilities, and hygiene standards that cannot be ignored. Insufficient or poorly managed chemical toilets on the beach can cause discomfort to bathers and create a real hygiene problem, with consequent risks for public health and the surrounding environment.

The European standard EN 16194:2023 dedicates a specific section to tourist, urban, natural, and inland beaches, defining the minimum number of units to be installed, the frequency of maintenance services, and the responsibilities of managing authorities. In this article, we explore all the information needed to understand how it works and what the regulation requires.

Which beaches the standard applies to

The EN 16194:2023 standard applies to a wide variety of bathing contexts. When it refers to beaches, it includes:

  • tourist beaches
  • urban beaches
  • non-urban beaches
  • natural beaches
  • inland beaches (lakes, rivers, waterways)

The criterion for defining the bathing season is equally precise: the predominant season is considered to be the period in which public attendance exceeds 10% of the annual maximum. Seasonality is classified as high, medium, or low, and this classification may vary depending on the country in which the beach is located.

Who is responsible for managing chemical toilets on the beach

Before talking about numbers, it is essential to understand who bears the legal responsibility for ensuring the presence and proper management of chemical toilets.

The beach managing authority as the initial waste producer

According to the EN 16194:2023 standard, beach managing authorities are considered the initial producers of the wastewater generated by chemical toilets. This means they are directly responsible for managing the waste produced on the beach under their jurisdiction.

This responsibility includes:

  • accepting the waste generated and the residual waste after use of the portable sanitary units
  • the costs associated with managing such waste, whether accepted or refused, which fall on the initial producer

It is therefore not sufficient to install the units and leave someone else to deal with them. The managing authority must take charge of the entire cycle, from the provision of sanitary facilities to the correct disposal of wastewater.

The role of portable sanitation operators

Once the managing authority entrusts the service to a specialist operator, it is the latter who becomes responsible for the collection and transport of wastewater to the discharge point authorised by the public sewerage system operator, the sewerage network, the collectors, or the wastewater treatment plants designated by each beach managing authority.

How many chemical toilets are needed on a beach?

Now for the numbers. The number of units to be installed depends on the net capacity of the beach and the expected level of occupancy. The standard distinguishes three occupancy scenarios: low (50%), high (75%), and full (95%), with different ratios for each.

For beaches with a net capacity of 1 to 300 users, with daily service frequency, the minimum required provision is 3 individual chemical toilets and 1 chemical toilet accessible to people with reduced mobility. This represents the floor below which it is not possible to go, regardless of any other calculation.

The number of units is then calculated on the basis of the three occupancy scenarios indicated in the standard, which involve different ratios:

  • low occupancy (50%): 1 unit per 50 users
  • high occupancy (75%): 1 unit per 52 users
  • full occupancy (95%, tourist and urban beaches): 1 unit per 55 users

An important detail must be added: permanent toilets already installed on the beach are included in the overall calculation. However, permanent or mobile public toilets located on promenades or in catering facilities near the beach cannot under any circumstances reduce the optimal number of portable units to be installed directly on the beach itself.

How often must chemical toilets on the beach be maintained?

As regards maintenance, the minimum mandatory frequency is once a day, on weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. If the beach has high or very high visitor numbers, maintenance must be carried out at least twice a day, spread over the 12 hours the beach is open.

This is one of the most critical aspects of management: having fewer units than necessary creates a problem when the wastewater tank overflows and the unit is no longer in acceptable hygiene conditions.

Risks during maintenance

The standard is explicit about one specific risk: during maintenance of the units, the utmost care must be taken to prevent wastewater from accidentally falling onto the beach sand. An incident of this kind would have significant hygiene and environmental consequences, especially in natural or protected settings.

How units must be positioned on the beach

Positioning is also regulated by the standard, with precise guidelines that follow practical and safety logic:

  • On tourist, urban, natural, and inland beaches, the maximum distance between batteries of chemical toilets must not exceed 100 metres. The route to reach them must be easily accessible to users: the more accessible the units are, the more likely they are to be used when needed, reducing the risk of bathers improvising alternatives.
  • Units cannot under any circumstances be placed in sandy areas designated for rest and bathing. This rule serves to facilitate the daily cleaning of the sand and to avoid hygiene risks associated with the presence of tanks in high-traffic areas.
  • The maintenance vehicle must be able to operate on solid ground, and the maximum distance between the unit and the service vehicle must not exceed 10 metres.

Toilets for people with reduced mobility

The standard also makes it mandatory to provide units accessible to people with reduced mobility at all beach access points equipped with accessibility services. These units must be reserved exclusively for the use of such people and cannot be counted as standard units.

Accessible units must be:

  • positioned at ground level, with no steps or barriers
  • fitted with a door with an opening of at least 80 cm
  • with an interior of at least 140 cm in both depth and width
  • equipped with grab rails and folding bars with feet
  • equipped with alcohol-based hand gel or soap for hand hygiene

Which chemical toilet to choose for a beach?

In short, in a bathing context the requirements are specific: units must withstand prolonged exposure to sun, salty air, and sand, and must be easy to move and reposition during the season. Tblustar models, a leading company in the portable chemical toilet sector, meet these characteristics with solutions designed for intensive use in outdoor environments.

The T-STAR, for example, is particularly suited to installations requiring rapid assembly and disassembly and optimisation of transport space, with a reduction of up to 75% in storage costs and space.

To find out which configuration is best suited to your beach, contact the Tblustar team.

Correct management of chemical toilets on the beach is the prerequisite for offering a bathing service that meets the hygiene and dignity standards that every user has the right to expect.