Female urinals to revolutionise public spaces

Virginie Milliet, Director of Happee Services and Nathalie des Isnards, Director of madamePee were guests on the Ecosystème programme presented by Thomas Hughes on the B Smart channel. This was an opportunity for the two directors to present the health innovations that form the cornerstone of the collaboration between the two companies.

Female urinals to promote gender equality in sanitary facilities

These women’s urinals are the result of a simple observation: during festivities, women wait an average of 30 minutes to use the toilet, whereas men only need 2 minutes on average. This striking inequality is mainly due to the type of equipment on offer, which gives men the option of a “quick” urinal break. The same option did not previously exist for women. So it was with the aim of eradicating this inequality that Nathalie des Isnards, founder of madamePee, created urinals for women. As she explains in the interview, their creation “meets their needs for privacy and hygiene, which are specific compared to men”. This solution is contactless and environmentally friendly, operating without water to reduce waste. In addition to the event version, madamePee urinals are available in city, fixed and movable versions. This is yet another step towards ensuring that sanitary areas are as equal during events as they are when people are walking down the street.

The Happee Services / madamePee partnership

The collaboration between the two companies began in 2019, the year in which madamePee and its feminine urinal were launched. This collaboration is designed to meet “emerging needs in the market”, which “used to be fairly basic”, as Virginie Milliet, Director of Happee Services, points out. Event organisers are now looking at these CSR issues, and in particular at more inclusive solutions: how can we guarantee equal access to toilets for men and women, for able-bodied people and those with reduced mobility, to meet men’s need for privacy? That’s the whole point of this merger between the two entities. Happee Services has been wholly committed for many years to finding CSR solutions for the sanitary areas of various events, and this more gender-equal solution – the female urinals and the misterPee modules, which meet the privacy needs of men – is yet another step towards total gender equality in the toilets.

An eco-responsible sanitary solution

Not only do these urinals aim to reduce inequalities between men and women, but the company is also taking action on environmental issues through several initiatives.

The first initiative involves the products themselves: all madamePee cabins are designed and manufactured in France. Nathalie Des Isnards was keen to develop a short distribution chain, and wanted a product that was both socially and environmentally unrivalled. madamePee cubicles are made entirely from recycled materials, which are in turn recyclable.

It’s also worth pointing out that these cubicles operate without water, whether they’re female urinals or misterPee urinals. The preservation of natural resources is one of the spearheads of this partnership. As a reminder, a flush uses between 6 and 12 litres of water, which is inconceivable in the current climate.

Finally, these cubicles – like the other waterless urinals available from Happee Services – are part of a circular economy process. Urine can be collected after use because it has not been altered by water. This urine can then be treated, processed and recycled into biostimulants for use in agriculture. This has been made possible by a partnership between Toopi Organics, a start-up specialising in urine recycling, madamePee and Happee Services. A collective effort to help the environment and farmers!