Qingdao toilet paper abuse triggers moral debate

An eastern Chinese city's efforts to build user-friendly toilets have ended with huge losses of free toilet paper, provoking reflections on the misuse of public amenities in China.

As most Chinese public lavatories do not provide paper or charge for their use, Qingdao, in Shandong province, has won much applause after it announced some toilets would be equipped with free-of-charge paper.

From late June, the Qingdao government started providing 100,000 toilet rolls to 24 public lavatories in several scenic spots, involving an investment of 1.5 million yuan (235,700 U.S. dollars).

But discussions turned embarrassing after online posts said some toilets reported consuming 2 kilometers of paper every day, as many visitors used it excessively or pocketed paper to take home.

"Some used the paper to wash their face, some to clean their feet and shoes, and some take away extra paper or even the entire roll as they left," a post said, citing management staff in those toilets.

Yu Jikun, who works at a public toilet near May Fourth Square, said three rolls of paper, or 750 meters in length, are consumed by the facility's users per day, as many of them spirited paper away in their pockets or bags.

Chinese netizens said Qingdao's experience revealed the inveterate habit of some Chinese to scrounge public resources, which some suspect might originate from austerity they had endured in the past.

"Many Chinese hold the 'take it if it costs you nothing to do so' mentality. It's urgent that they improve their moral standards and public awareness," said a netizen with the screen name "Innocent Years" on Sina Weibo, the popular microblogging site.

Misuse of public facilities is rampant in Chinese cities. Return rates for emergency-use umbrellas and public bicycles were so low that many cities suspended such programs over exorbitant costs.

Earlier this year, media in Beijing reported that extravagant use of free toilet paper had prompted the city to send staff to handle paper hand-outs or install distribution machines designed to save on paper.

But media pundit Zhang Junyu warned against using national ethics as a pretext to extenuate the Chinese government's slow advance in the provision of public services.

"That tourists fancy such paper just reflects China's poor record in this sector. If free toilet paper and similar services are commonplace, why would people make a fuss about them," Zhang said in his blog.

Gu Jun, a sociology professor at Shanghai University, also encouraged Qingdao to continue providing free toilet paper. As China moves on, prosperity will naturally lead to social properity, he suggested.

"In the past, all fruit on roadside trees in China would be plucked, even before they got ripe. Such practices are increasingly rare, simply because people can now easily get better-tasting fruit from the market," Gu said in a commentary.