Toilet paper in simplified or condominium sewers?

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  • Elisabeth
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Re: Toilet paper in simplified or condominium sewers?

It might also depend on the country where you have this system. If people are already used to putting toilet paper in a separate bin then I wouldn't stop that habit. Anything that gets put into the sewer also has to be taken out again later (e.g. screens at a treatment plant), so if people are OK with putting toilet paper separately then that's good. Then again, feces-soiled toilet paper could attract flies and smell, so the bin would need to have a good cover and it might be hard to have a hygienic system? Maybe just the urine-soiled toilet paper could easily be collected in a bin?

Another aspect is that occasionally people put excess amounts of toilet paper down the drain (e.g. if they first cover the seat with toilet paper...) which can also lead to blockages. Sometimes people even try to dispose of nappies via the toilet... Tampons and menstrual pads should be disposed in bins, not in the toilet - but many women do flush the used tampons down the toilet (no other choice if no bins are provided in the cubicles? Menstrual cups avoid this problem).
Dr. Elisabeth von Muench
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  • JKMakowka
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Re: Toilet paper in simplified or condominium sewers?

That depends on many factors, but if we are talking about longer transport distances than you probably mean a "solids-free" sewer in which case solids (incl. toilet paper) are intercepted in a sort of septic-tank on the plot.

In general this page has a good overview: sswm.info/node/8235

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  • abobey
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Toilet paper in simplified or condominium sewers?

Hello colleagues! Just a simple question, does toilet paper cause any blockage problem in these sewers? is it better to throw it separately in a bin?

Thank you!

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