You stop at Curepe Junction to buy doubles and feel the need to relieve yourself, so you go into the nearby ultra-clean public washroom, with its automatic doors, no-touch flushing, electronic paper dispenser, sensor-operated soap, water and hand-drying facilities, music and voice messages, and even toilet seat washer. You are so comfortable that you don’t even want to come out to enjoy your doubles.

Beeeeeep … your alarm goes off.

It’s 6 am and you awaken to realise you were only dreaming about the fairly new state-of-the-art public toilets, called Exeloo Galaxy Automated Public Toilets (APTs).

Though three of these units were to be installed in the Tunapuna/Piarco region, at Curepe Junction, Macoya intersection and between the Golden Grove Prison and Eastern Main Road, Arouca, that has not yet materialised.

However, the dream may finally become reality, according to Patricia Mejias, Chairperson of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation.

“We have received approval from the Permanent Secretary for the funding of a unit which will be installed at Curepe Junction before the end of August,” she said in a recent telephone interview.

“We have already approached TTEC and WASA about getting the necessary infrastructure in place. When the units arrive in TT, we will be guided on its operations by representatives from the manufacturer, Exeloo.”

Other features of these APTs include walls and floor made of steel fibre reinforced precast concrete, moulded fibreglass ceilings, interior walls surfaced with flooring grade ceramic tiles; graffiti resistant walls, non-slip, moisture resistant flooring and aluminium or stainless steel doors, and monitoring capabilities.

The units come in a wide range of facilities from low cost economy units, mid range manual units and higher specification automated units. There are optional features such as baby change table, sanitary disposal, coin or card operation and appearance. The APTs not only flush automatically but also are fully disinfected and blown dry after each use. Each standalone unit houses one toilet, with a self-locking door and a timer that lets you know when the allotted time is about to end. One model, the Exeloo III Unisex Self Cleaning Toilet, is suitable for use by both able persons and those with disabilities.

APTs are already being used in New Zealand, Australia, Guadeloupe and parts of Europe and North America. The units are advertised as being “extremely effective and able to remove 99.9% of contaminating micro-organisms within.”

Mejias also said that approximately 20 modern public urinal units will be purchased. These are called Kros urinals, and facilitate up to four persons at one time. “These will be installed in public parks and taxi hub areas,” she stated.

“We expect to have use of these from the end of July. We are trying to offer an alternative to get people to stop using the walls, street corners and trees. Each of the units takes a week to reach capacity and they are basically self-cleaning.”

The mobile Kros Free Standing Urinal has been successfully used for years, all over Europe. With a weight of 85 Kg, it is easy to handle and quickly positioned anywhere. An incorporated, practical lifting eye makes for simple loading and offloading.

The unit can be used simultaneously by four men, requiring no more space than a typical toilet cabin, and is particularly useful for reducing queue length at special events. Its waste capacity is 450 litres, but it may also be directly positioned over a waste manhole, for continuous use.

Television personality Deborah Maillard of Specialist Lighting Ltd, the company responsible for introducing the system to TT, said she was very excited to be part of this move into the future.

“This is something we have been waiting for. There seems to be very little disadvantage in bringing this system to this country,” she stated. Though both the Exeloo and Kros units are quite costly, Mejias stated that a system will be put in place for users to pay a small fee.

“The first unit being purchased offers advertising facilities, so this could cover some of the cost, as well as maintenance fees,” she said.