Public hygiene help for Istanbul Gezi Park
June 10, 2013 6:44 AM Subscribe
How to sustain public hygiene and battle possible health hazards, possibly with strong chemicals, without poisoning the soil or thousands of people?
I'm sure many of you have heard about the huge protests over here in Istanbul. It's still going on, and I'm among the many thousands living and working inside the Gezi Park, the center of the events. Obviously, with so many people visiting and living inside a relatively small area, we are starting to have growing public hygiene problems. The most immediately problematic areas are, understandably, the public restrooms—some brick-and-mortar, some portable... and it stinks. It would be straightforward to just take brooms, brushes and whatnot to wash everything away with some chemicals but this is a park, so we'd love to have advice on how to deal with a situtation like this without poisoning the soil and killing the greenery so many people fought to save.
What kind of—preferably cheap or DIY—machinery can we use with what kind of cleaning materials? Something like this, perhaps?
What should we look out for? What are we most probably are not aware of and will come to regret later? What are some ways to organize people and materials in the most efficient and speedy manner for this? Any related advice or how-to is welcome, really.
Thanks!
I'm sure many of you have heard about the huge protests over here in Istanbul. It's still going on, and I'm among the many thousands living and working inside the Gezi Park, the center of the events. Obviously, with so many people visiting and living inside a relatively small area, we are starting to have growing public hygiene problems. The most immediately problematic areas are, understandably, the public restrooms—some brick-and-mortar, some portable... and it stinks. It would be straightforward to just take brooms, brushes and whatnot to wash everything away with some chemicals but this is a park, so we'd love to have advice on how to deal with a situtation like this without poisoning the soil and killing the greenery so many people fought to save.
What kind of—preferably cheap or DIY—machinery can we use with what kind of cleaning materials? Something like this, perhaps?
What should we look out for? What are we most probably are not aware of and will come to regret later? What are some ways to organize people and materials in the most efficient and speedy manner for this? Any related advice or how-to is welcome, really.
Thanks!
Can you have more portable restrooms and/or have them cleaned more frequently?
posted by aniola at 8:13 AM on June 10, 2013
posted by aniola at 8:13 AM on June 10, 2013
Response by poster: kat518: I think it would be a beautiful symbol of the movement if you were to start a flower garden in the park, though I don't know how feasible that is.
Something like this? :) (There are more photos from around the park in that album, if anyone would like to take a peek)
posted by procrastinator at 8:55 AM on June 10, 2013
Something like this? :) (There are more photos from around the park in that album, if anyone would like to take a peek)
posted by procrastinator at 8:55 AM on June 10, 2013
I don't know how to solve the immediate cleanup problem, but I've worked small festivals that are run on a budget and wrote this article on helping keep things clean. It's written about juggling festivals but plenty of it probably applies to you too.
I'd also say: If and when people complain about mess and stink, encourage them to take some part of the responsibility for sorting it out. Don't let yourself (or anyone else) become the designated shit fairy.
posted by emilyw at 9:27 AM on June 10, 2013
I'd also say: If and when people complain about mess and stink, encourage them to take some part of the responsibility for sorting it out. Don't let yourself (or anyone else) become the designated shit fairy.
posted by emilyw at 9:27 AM on June 10, 2013
If there is any way you can get electric waterless toilets, that could work well as long as you have electricity.
posted by mareli at 9:39 AM on June 10, 2013
posted by mareli at 9:39 AM on June 10, 2013
Could you solicit donations for a fund dedicated to frequent rotation of portable toilets so you have new ones cycled in and used ones cycled out frequently? It would seem that a lot of people would like to donate money for such a cause, however 1) there may be political ramifications depending on where the funds come from, and 2) as you would know better than us, there may be truck access issues. Good luck and stay safe.
posted by Dansaman at 9:57 AM on June 10, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 9:57 AM on June 10, 2013
I'm not sure how to prevent that from happening besides occasionally planting some things of your own there.
The real problem is soil compaction from thousands of human bodies tamping the dirt down with their feet. Not a lot you can do about that except create specific trails, cover them with (say) gravel or step tiles, and try to keep people off the rest.
Something like this, perhaps?
Looks like a hand-pump for insecticide to me. That won't do anything about layers of urea in a bathroom. You need a pressure-washer, or at least a pail and mop.
I don't know if you have compatible Western-style tank toilets in the park, but I use this toilet-cleaning system for the bathroom that my dad uses; he has dementia and is basically a pee fountain. It keeps the bowl reasonably good-looking and helps with the smell as well, but I still have to do a physical wipe-down of the bowl exterior.
I really sympathize. When we were protesting in Madison (say hi to Jenna Pope if you see her, I'm a friend of Yuri), we had portable toilets on the Capitol Square, although they were paid for by someone (possibly the truckers' union, which was a big part of the backbone). It made a big difference for the businesses who had to deal with the crush.
posted by dhartung at 4:33 PM on June 10, 2013
The real problem is soil compaction from thousands of human bodies tamping the dirt down with their feet. Not a lot you can do about that except create specific trails, cover them with (say) gravel or step tiles, and try to keep people off the rest.
Something like this, perhaps?
Looks like a hand-pump for insecticide to me. That won't do anything about layers of urea in a bathroom. You need a pressure-washer, or at least a pail and mop.
I don't know if you have compatible Western-style tank toilets in the park, but I use this toilet-cleaning system for the bathroom that my dad uses; he has dementia and is basically a pee fountain. It keeps the bowl reasonably good-looking and helps with the smell as well, but I still have to do a physical wipe-down of the bowl exterior.
I really sympathize. When we were protesting in Madison (say hi to Jenna Pope if you see her, I'm a friend of Yuri), we had portable toilets on the Capitol Square, although they were paid for by someone (possibly the truckers' union, which was a big part of the backbone). It made a big difference for the businesses who had to deal with the crush.
posted by dhartung at 4:33 PM on June 10, 2013
The most immediately problematic areas are, understandably, the public restrooms—some brick-and-mortar, some portable... and it stinks.
Start a dialog on how everyone can help keep things clean, what to do with litter/trash, washing hands and general hygiene. How to do this will depend on your local culture in the park.
It would be straightforward to just take brooms, brushes and whatnot to wash everything away with some chemicals
What you do really depends on what you have available, and what your environment is like. You can use water to wash everything "away", but where is away? Are there drains for the water? Will the water stand and act as a breeding ground for disease? Will the water create large muddy areas?
posted by yohko at 5:34 PM on June 10, 2013
Start a dialog on how everyone can help keep things clean, what to do with litter/trash, washing hands and general hygiene. How to do this will depend on your local culture in the park.
It would be straightforward to just take brooms, brushes and whatnot to wash everything away with some chemicals
What you do really depends on what you have available, and what your environment is like. You can use water to wash everything "away", but where is away? Are there drains for the water? Will the water stand and act as a breeding ground for disease? Will the water create large muddy areas?
posted by yohko at 5:34 PM on June 10, 2013
The product you linked to is for spraying chemicals on things, it will do nothing to wash things away. It would have a similar effect to spritzing with a spray bottle.
posted by yohko at 5:36 PM on June 10, 2013
posted by yohko at 5:36 PM on June 10, 2013
Simple Green is what we used to use to wash the bathrooms at camp. It's nontoxic, biodegradable, and smells quite nice. I would suggest seeing if there's a way to buy it there or have it shipped!
posted by limeonaire at 7:03 PM on June 10, 2013
posted by limeonaire at 7:03 PM on June 10, 2013
There are some suggestions for discussing toilets and their use in community settings, as well as hygiene and cleaning, in this book from the same organization that publishes _Where There Is No Doctor_
A_Community_Guide_to_Environmental_Health:Chapter_7:_Building_Toilets
posted by yohko at 12:37 AM on June 12, 2013
A_Community_Guide_to_Environmental_Health:Chapter_7:_Building_Toilets
posted by yohko at 12:37 AM on June 12, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
One of the things that also happened locally with the Occupy protests was that they eventually became breeding grounds for rats, so impress upon people the importance of throwing out food and picking up garbage in general. If it appears that your presence in the park is hurting the park itself, that would be incredibly damaging for your movement. But it's also about safety - less garbage, less places for rodents. If you have volunteers who show up and just want to Do Something, hand them a trash bag and tell them that the honest-to-God best thing that they could do is pick up and throw out garbage.
Also, I'm guessing that there aren't many sinks to wash hands. Dirty hands will help make people sick. Get hand sanitizer and tissues. If people offer donations for the cause, I'd suggest spending them on hand sanitizer, tissues and garbage bags.
posted by kat518 at 8:08 AM on June 10, 2013