In Rome (and many Roman cities) urinals (effectively, jars set into suitably out-of-the-way parts of the sidewalk) were installed by private firms/individuals, because (fermented) urine was used in bleaching cloth and treating leather.

Vespasian started the practice of taxing those firms (only in the city of Rome itself, not all across the Empire) according to the amount of urine or urinals they collected.