What will Brussels gain from two more high-tech public toilets?

The City of Brussels announced plans on 3 March 2026 to install additional public toilets at Bockstael Square and the Atomium during 2026–27, according to [BRUZZ’s reporting](https://www.bruzz.be/actua/samenleving/stad-brussel-vervangt-verouderde-openbare-toiletten-door-zelfreinigende-exemplaren-2026-03-03). That announcement accompanied the opening of three self-cleaning facilities costing €150,000 apiece. The two further locations are confirmed plans in the reporting reviewed; their opening dates and present operational status remain unverified.

For anyone spending time outside in the city, the practical question is straightforward: can you find a usable toilet when you need one? Brussels research identifies women, older people, tourists, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness as particularly affected by shortages. As researcher Lien Maes explained to [BRUZZ in 2022](https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/vub-masterthesis-openbare-toiletten-dragen-bij-tot-inclusievere-stad-2022-01-27), access to toilets helps determine how far people can comfortably move around a city.

This is a municipal service story. The March investment included a facility at Margaretasquare in the European quarter, which the city says residents had requested for years and largely financed through their neighbourhood’s participatory budget. Its European-quarter address connects the project to everyday life around the institutions; the [city’s announcement](https://www.brussel.be/sites/default/files/bxl/Stad%20Brussel%20opent%20drie%20nieuwe%20zelfreinigende%20en%20slimme%20openbare%20toiletten.pdf) identifies local funding and responsibility, rather than an EU programme.

The same announcement describes replacements at Anneessens Square and Marguerite Duras Square, alongside the additional Margaretasquare facility. That distinction matters: three new installations did not mean three additional locations. The machinery automatically flushes and cleans and dries floors and walls after use, while a monitoring system alerts the cleaning service to incidents, according to the city. These are equipment capabilities described by the authority, not independently measured results.

Public cleanliness alderman Anas Ben Abdelmoumen, of the PS, frames the investment as basic provision. Public toilets make public space “cleaner and more inclusive”, he says in the municipal release, translated from Dutch. His argument puts hygiene and access alongside the effort to reduce public urination. The €150,000 figure describes the March installations; a separately verified final price for each forthcoming facility was not available in the evidence reviewed.

Maes offers a complementary but more cautious spending perspective. Because public toilets are expensive, “alternative avenues should be explored”, she told BRUZZ in 2022, translated from Dutch. She proposed opening existing facilities in public buildings and businesses, alongside prompt repairs and maintenance. This was an earlier assessment of Brussels provision, not a response to the current purchase. It nevertheless raises a useful question: how much dependable access does each approach deliver?

Brussels already combines these approaches. Its [Toilet Action Plan](https://www.brussel.be/toiletactieplan), launched in 2021, includes a network of participating businesses and public venues, temporary facilities and better signage. The broader lesson is that sanitation is a network service: a sophisticated cubicle helps only if people can reach it, locate it and use it.

Automation also leaves continuing costs. A [2023 municipal council document](https://www.bruxelles.be/sites/default/files/bxl/Q_15R-2023.pdf) estimated maintenance, including twice-daily cleaning and repairs, at approximately €26,000 per self-cleaning toilet annually. That historical estimate is not a verified operating budget for the 2026 models, but it shows why the purchase price alone cannot establish value for money.

The next checkpoints are delivery at Bockstael Square and the Atomium, followed by evidence on availability, repairs and usage. No independently verified usage totals were found for the forthcoming facilities. Meanwhile, the [city’s toilet map](https://www.brussel.be/toiletten) lets users check opening hours, charges and accessibility by location. For residents and visitors, those details turn an infrastructure announcement into a service they can actually rely on.