By Mam Ndure
Urine contains nitrogen compound such as urea and other waste substances removed from the body by the kidney. Urine has offensive smell and when done in public especially persistently the stench can be overwhelming with serious environmental and health implications.
Public Urination is the act of urinating in public places not designed or designated for it. The act is unlawful in many countries but sadly the laws are largely not abided by.
One notoriously known public spot illegally used for urination in urban Gambia is the Westfield Bakau Garage.
This reporter reached out to the public to sound their opinions about the situation of the garage.
Aminah Touray, a student, said she feels good going to school until she gets to Westfield and notice the unhealthy situation at the garage and gets hit by disappointment.
The garage, she said is at a good location but in a terrible condition due to the offensive urine smell.
“The entire environment smells so very bad with urine stain all over the place. It is morally not accepted too,’’ she said.
Aminah further lamented: “In most cases, I stand for hours waiting for vehicle in that unhealthy environment. I cover my nose with my hands, tissue or bear the unhealthy air”.
Ms. Touray said she worries about the food vendors and shop owners around the place. She urged the authorities including chief of the garage and the KMC to do something about the place.
A shop owner at the vicinity also expressed dismay at the situation and the people doing it.
“Here is where we earn our living,” he said, describing the act as shameful.
According to research, human urine can affect the environment in negative ways; such as pharmaceutical and eutrophication pollution. Pharmaceutical pollution happens when people excrete unprescribed medicines or drugs which their body could not digest. Eutrophication happens when certain chemicals in the urine enter aquatic ecosystems such as rivers, lakes or streams, causing an abundance of these chemicals in the ecosystem. These chemicals trigger extreme algal growth which can cause environmental problems such as harm to the aquatic lifeand ecosystem. Both of these issues are influenced by human urine and can lead to damage in ecosystem and the environment at large.
Aside the environmental issues associated with public urination, there are health problems such as exposing people to sicknesses such as urinary tract infection as the bacteria in an infected person’s urine can spread infecting others and causing disease.
According to the Anti-littering regulations 2007 section [10] A person who urinates in a public place or an undesignated place commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty dalasi [250].
Attempts to have an interview with the National Environment Agency (NEA) were unsuccessful.
