Actually, I have two questions. I was recently in Costa Rica and many places asked people to put their toilet paper in the trash rather than in the toilet. I understand that many places in Central and South America ask this.
If you live in an area that has this, what is done with the toilet paper? In the hotels and restaurants, you’re asked to put it into a plastic-bag lined garbage can. Are the bags pulled out and replaced every day? Are the used papers all piled together and then, what?
Is this really greener? Our hotel claimed they were doing this for environmental reasons, but many places in the US have septic systems that happily take the TP. If the bags are collected and sealed up, that can’t possibly be greener than letting the TP biodegrade in some septic system. Also, you now have bags of bio-hazard – any outbreak of something like dysentery would seem to be a real problem.
Extra credit: Why are there so many Geo Trackers/Suzuki Sidekicks in Costa Rica? I like the car (I had one), but they’ve been out of production, at least in the States, for a while now – did they continue producing them here?
When I was in Costa Rica a few months ago, they said their plumbing couldn’t handle toilet paper. Trying to flush it down would result in clogs, backups, and other nasty stuff.
The trash cans in the bathroom were indeed emptied every day.
-D/a
I’m not sure it’s greener in any quantifiable way*. But it could well be that the local sewage systems don’t have the capacity to handle toilet paper. Local businesses know that American tourists like to feel “green”, so they tell you that it’s “good for the environment” rather than “it’ll clog the pipes, overwhelm the sewage treatment plant, and result in massive sewage releases”.
*WAG: toilet paper in the dump might not decompose as much, thus releasing less CO2. Toilet paper in the sewage treatment plant will be gobbled up by microbes, releasing CO2. But maybe that plant is turning sewage solids into fertilizer, which means that the toilet paper gets to contribute to soil fertility in a very “green” way.
I only used one bathroom in Mexico that had that sign. I don’t think it was greener, I believe, it was that it literally emptied directly into the Gulf and they didn’t want the toilet paper floating around. I should probably mention that in this case, the bathrooms we were using were in the beach, so this may be an exception.
They aren’t doing it because it’s greener. It probably isn’t. They are doing it because the sewage systems can’t handle it.
If you where told it’s for enviornmental reasons, it’s probably true. The sewage probably goes straight into a river and the tp gets stuck on tree branches and stuff.
China had the same thing, in many public toilets. (Plus, they were the “squat” toilets.) However, in the high end hotels there was no such signs. My theory was that toilet paper in the “good old days” was not up to North American standards - probably consisted of “The People’s Daily” and such - which definitely, would plug things up if flushed. Until the whole country is on the White Swan standard, they’ll probably keep it that way.
Why is it any different to drop it in a bin right next to the toilet than to drop it in the bowl itself? You don’t have to have any more contact with it in either case.
I was fortunate enough to avoid public toilets in China, or just use the urinal. My wife assured my it stank to high heaven, especially when it was pretty hot and no air conditioning. Not to mention the health hazards associated with overflowing cans if not properly serviced, how are they emptied, how is the overall trash handled etc. When that stuff spills onto the floor and then the “skid marks” get walked through (assuming it gets picked up by what are probably minimum wage government trash collectors) then yes, you do have contact with it. Keep in mind that many countries do not have pretty plastic trash bin liners or the “OMG! Grab the Mr Clean!” mentality of spotlessness that we aspire to in North America but rarely achieve - especially countries where you traditionally went in a bucket that you then ladled onto your rice paddies.
Of course, I am talking about the country where the little kids have pants split down the crotch rather than diapers, and on two occasions we saw mama holding the kid over a flowerbed to do their thing in public. On another occasion, the baby peed on the man seated beside them on the airplane. Wait til they have to figure out how to dispose of paper diapers…
Yes, but that’s not what Annie-Xmas said. I asked what is the problem with simply dropping paper into a rubbish bin instead of a toilet. Most hotels etc in Central America, southern Europe, Asia etc. that have the “no-flush” rule have perfectly civilised, regularly emptied, plastic-lined bins right next to the toilet for this purpose. Some even have a pedal-operated lid so you don’t have to look at the paper for any longer than you would if you dropped it in the john.
People are so weird when it comes to bodily functions. Americans especially, in my experience.
You get used to it quick. The apartment we stayed at near Merida, Mexico, had us put our toilet paper in the waste bin. My SO was apparently used to it, having lived in Ecuador for a spell, but even in my travels to some less-industrialized countries, I hadn’t seen this and thought it slightly off-putting. The explanation we were given had to do with the plumbing. Anyhow, after a day or two, it became perfectly normal.
I know they empty them out every day, but do they tie up the little plastic bags, or empty the used tissue into a larger bag? How do they deal with the bio-hazard?
Thanks, all, for the answers, by the way. I knew this was the place to go.
If you have a septic system rather then a city waste water treatment you must throw TP in the trash rather then the toilet. The paper decomposes slower then solid waste and will fill the septic tank to quickly.
Yeah, this. Every bathroom I’ve used that required this smelled much worse. Toilets have a trap and a layer of water to keep all the bad smells out. If you put waste into a basket, it’s going to smell.
It’s still better than, say, an outhouse, but it’s not as nice as having indoor plumbing that can handle paper.
I would expect many U.S. cities would object to feces covered paper in the general trash pickup. There is a potential health hazard there.
Hospitals for example have bio waste bags for medical waste. I think feces waste paper and bed pads goes in that (after cleaning up a patient in bed). Not sure.
Not BS at all… it saves water, and that’s important. In many (if not most) places of the world, it’s a lot harder to find plentiful water than to find a way to get rid of soiled toilet paper. At least that’s my perception.
Having spent some time in Mexico, for that region at least both answers are correct: it is because the septic systems can’t efficiently handle the paper and, because of that, not flushing paper is better for the environment.
If the septic tank’s sludge container is overfilled with paper that takes longer to decompose it won’t just keep filling up until it explodes, it will start leaking sludge (sewage) directly out to the ground instead of holding it in the tank until it has decomposed as it supposed to do. Even with paper meant to decompose very quickly for septic tank use, small bits of paper are able to float from the sludge area into the drain area and eventually form a paper mache seal in the tiny drain holes that allow the processed water back into the ground, causing those to back up and overflow directly into the ground instead of draining properly through the gravel and charcoal layers they are meant to drain into. In many areas there is groundwater running right under the populated areas. Anyone with a shovel could have a well in their yard and many do. So it is considered bad for everyone to flush paper, if you overflow your septic tank it might be a family down the street that you are poisoning if not your own.
It takes a little adjustment to the idea of having the used paper in a trash can. (the aforementioned plastic bag-lined trashcans with foot pedals are very popular, as is a big can of Lysol nearby in many bathrooms) But throwing the paper out it isn’t really any more unsanitary public-health wise than what we already do with trash bags full of used Kleenex, Q-Tips, Kotex, etc.
There are also some types of septic systems in Mexico on older constructions that are basically a cemented-in tomb that will, one day, fill up and have to be pumped out. It costs a lot to do this, and the longer they can go without having it done the better. So flushing paper down the toilet in that type of system costs money, it is considered like leaving the light on for no reason or the fridge door open - just wasteful for no reason.
