User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Costa Rica

Public toilets in Costa Rica are rare. Outside the capital San José, most tend to be found at fast food restaurants and petrol stations. Toilet paper is rarely provided, and the septic systems would have issues handling it if provided.

Public toilets
Public toilets are very rare in Costa Rica. Most are found in major cities like San Jose or along major roads, and are located in petrol stations and restaurants who will only allow their customers to access them. Outside San José, the most common places to find toilets that are accessible to members of the public are at fast food places and petrol stations. There are public toilets on the beach at Puntarenas.

The typical charge to use a public toilet is ₡500. The most common type of toilet is a sit toilet, and most do not provide toilet paper. Even if they did, most places in Costa Rica do not have a sanitation system that can handle toilet paper being put in toilets.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Costa Rica
Baño is the most common way to say toilet in Spanish speaking countries. Other words for toilet include aseo, váter, retrete, servicio, lavabo, sanitarios, regadera, bidé, tina, lavamanos and orinal. Men's toilets are called hombres, while women's toilets are called mujeres. Unisex toilets are called baño unisex. Toilet paper is called papel higiénico.

Around 2.5 billion people around the world in 2018 did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. Around 4.5 billion people lacked access to proper sanitation. Public toilet access around the world is most acute in the Global South, with around 3.6 billion people, 40% of the world's total population, lacking access to any toilet facilities. 2.3 people in the the Global South do not have toilet facilities in their residence. Despite the fact that the United Nation made a declaration in 2010 that clean water and sanitation is a human right, little has been done in many places towards addressing this on a wider level.

Sit flush toilets are the most common type of toilet in Latin America and South America. Most countries in Latin and South America do not have the sanitation infrastructure to support toilet paper being flushed. Trash cans are typically put next to the toilet to allow for easy disposal of toilet paper.