Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(BEIJING) — There was a time when you weren’t allowed to squeeze the Charmin, now you’re lucky if you get any.
Park authorities in Beijing have installed toilet paper dispensers with facial recognition technology at the Temple of Heaven Park to prevent theft and waste.
According to the BBC, machines at the park scan visitors’ faces before dispensing a fixed length strip of paper. Signs indicate visitors must remove their glasses and hats before being scanned.
The machines then dispense strips of toilet paper measuring about 24 to 27.5 inches. Additional paper will not be dispensed to the same person until nine minutes have passed.
What inspired the Chinese to do this? Media outlets in China reported that visitors to the bathrooms at the Temple of Heaven were taking excessive amounts of toilet paper, with some even taking rolls home in their bags, a problem the park has had since it began dispensing free toilet paper in 2007.
The daily use of toilet paper in the park has dropped by 20 percent, which is part of the plan. Mercifully, officials are not heartless. A park spokesman told the Beijing Evening News, “If we encounter guests who have diarrhea or any other situation in which they urgently require toilet paper, then our staff on the ground will directly provide the toilet paper.”
Six machines have been installed for a half-month trial. Staff remains on standby to explain the technology to visitors.
Additionally, the park upgraded the toilet paper from one-ply to two-ply.
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