Women needing to spend a penny late at night in central Amsterdam need not cross their legs and wait any longer. The city’s Dam square has become the world’s first public space to be equipped with a retractable women’s toilet.

The enclosed toilet, made of vandal-resistant stainless steel, sits underground during the day. At night the cabin, also equipped with two urinals for men, rises above the ground and ready for use.

The unit is located next to the 17th century palace, which is often targeted by people who are too drunk or lazy to go home. Urine penetrates the old bricks, causing both damage and smell. If caught, peeing in public in the Netherlands carries a fine of €130.

The urinal is designed by Appeldoorn-based company Urilift, which has installed 200 retractable men’s urinals worldwide. In Amsterdam there are 10 such installations.

The urinal has a door but no seat, and is designed only for peeing. However: ‘You cannot check in advance what someone has planned. If something else is deposited the system can handle it,’ Urilift director Marco Schimmel told Nos.

Explosive

A freak gas explosion caused one of Urilift’s men’s urinals on the Leidseplein to pop out of the ground suddenly in late 2014. The urinal exploded upwards, launching a moped into the air, which hit a nearby pedestrian and broke eight of his ribs.

Use of these retractable urinals was halted following the incident, but has since been resumed.

Other plans

There are various other initiatives underway in the Netherlands to stop people peeing at random.

A 15th century church tower in the Drenthe town of Meppel is being used to test a special water-repellent coating to stop people urinating against its walls.

Dutch company Orange Nano took 18 months to develop the PeeBack paint. The splash back effect is created by silicon dioxide, a combination of tiny particles of glass and sand.

The company told Nos last year that several other local authorities and a premier league football club are also considering using the paint.