‘Dystopian’ toilets won’t give you loo roll unless you watch an advert first

Users must watch an advert or pay to access toilet roll in some Chinese public bathrooms (Picture: Reddit/Youtube)

Paying to use a public bathroom isn’t a new concept, with plenty of countries charging an entrance fee to allow people to – literally – spend a penny.

But these public toilets in China have taken the concept to new heights.

In a move described as ‘dystopian’ by the anti-consumption subreddit, some public bathrooms in China are forcing users to watch an advert in order to gain access to toilet paper.

A video shared by China Insider showed a person scanning a QR code on the loo roll dispenser and watching a short advert, before a few squares of paper are dispensed.

If that’s not enough paper, or if you don’t want to watch an advert, you can pay 0.5 RMB – about 5p – to skip the ads.

It’s been claimed the system cuts down on waste, with authorities suggesting some people had been taking excessive amounts of free toilet paper.

But the move has been heavily criticised, with many suggesting they would simply choose to carry their own tissues in case they needed to use a public bathroom in China.

Plus, there are the potential hygiene issues if someone needs to use the bathroom but their phone has run out of battery, or they don’t have any spare change.

This isn’t the first time China has restricted toilet paper use in its public bathrooms.

Back in 2017, public loos at the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing installed toilet roll dispensers with facial recognition software built in.

Authorities claimed the attraction is regularly visited by people who stuff their bags with loo roll and take it home with them.

The new machines dispensed a strip of toilet roll measuring about 60cm in length, and would not dispense any more to the same person until nine minutes passed.

But the park was forced to clarify that if someone had diarrhoea or another urgent need for loo roll, a staff member would provide it directly to them – which wouldn’t be mortifyingly embarrassing at all.

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