The City of London has begun testing a new method to stop men from urinating on the streets. The so-called “anti-bee paint” is being implemented in the Soho district, a central part of the English capital known for its bustling nightlife. The new method has already been tested in other countries.
The purpose of the paint is to create a transparent water-repellent layer that repels urine when it hits the wall. In this way, the criminal gets the “instant revenue” of urinating.
“It’s very effective,” local councilor Aicha Les told AFP. “passing urine [na rua] It’s not very pleasant and our residents are very upset about it.”
“They walk out the front door in the morning and they smell urine,” he added, adding that local residents “have the right to live in a clean and safe environment.” In total, it is estimated that Westminster spends GBP 1 million (about R$ 6.5 million) annually on street cleaning, which includes urinating from pavements. The councilor hopes the new strategy will reduce this cost.
“We’ll see what impact it has,” he says. Westminster City Council is also considering further fines for public urination, which could cost offenders £50 or £80.
Anti-urine paint has already been tested in other countries. In 2015, Germany already tested the product in Hamburg. In the same year, it was the turn of San Francisco in the US to cover nine walls with paint in a pilot project for the summer.
