Seattle Launches 4 Solar-Powered Toilets for 1-Year World Cup Pilot

6 articles · Updated · KOMO News · May 16

$465,000 will fund Seattle’s yearlong pilot with Throne Labs, placing four free public toilets in Pioneer Square and SODO ahead of the FIFA World Cup visitor surge.
The units require a cellphone unlock, cap visits at 10 minutes and will operate daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with crews on standby to clean and respond to problems.
City leaders say the design reflects lessons from a failed public-toilet push nearly 20 years ago, when vandalism and crime plagued high-tech units later sold on eBay.
Mayor Katie Wilson argues broader restroom access could cut sanitation, public-health and policing costs downtown if the pilot proves durable.

After a previous $5 million failure, can Seattle's new data-driven toilets finally solve its decades-long public restroom crisis?

Do QR codes and 10-minute timers make public restrooms safer, or do they exclude the city's most vulnerable residents?