Pooping tourist "Mainly broke manner rules" says local police

"He first and foremost broke normal manner rules," says Selfoss chief of police Oddur Árnason with regards to the tourist who went to the toilet in the driveway of a local farm, right next to the postbox.

Article on Iceland Monitor

Icelandic farmer outraged as tourist poops next to postbox

Asked by our sister publication mbl.is whether the man had committed an offence according to the law he says that most likely the tourist was breaking the 17th article in Icelandic nature protection laws where it states that people travelling around Iceland should show respect to landowners and follow their rules and regulations when traversing their land. The law also state that people should not leave waste or garbage behind at a picnic stop or camping site. 

These sort of cases are not reported regularly to the police. "I've heard of this kind of thing but it's very rare that they end up on our desk," says Árnason. 

Lilja Einarsdóttir at the local district council, Rangárþing eystra, says that this is a sad matter. She adds that the counties have little money to fund toilets for tourists although she adds that this doesn't excuse what this particular tourist did. 

The county provides public toilets at Seljalandsfoss and Skógarfoss waterfalls, both very popular tourist spots. "But this incident occurred on a farm in Fljótshlíð, that's not an offocial tourist destination."

Einarsdóttir says that she has heard of many people pulling their car over to the side of the road to sleep which may result in human waste.  "We need more funding to be able to build more toilets. But this does not excuse this man's behaviour. I understand the farmer completely."