Many Taiwanese still bin it, while govt pushes to flush it

Toilet trouble: More than half of Taiwanese dispose of soiled toilet paper in rubbish bins, with many citing concerns over sewerage systems getting choked. — The Straits Times/ANN

For most of his life, 37-year-old Vincent Tseng would chuck soiled toilet paper into a bin instead of flushing it away, whether he was using the toilet at home or in public places.

“My parents and teachers always said that flushing toilet paper would clog the pipes. I didn’t want to become known as the student who clogged up the school toilet, so I always threw toilet paper into the bins,” said Tseng, who owns a phone accessories shop.

He took to toilet flushing only a few years ago, after seeing a 2017 government campaign that encouraged the public to do so.

But old toilet habits die hard for most in Taiwan despite government efforts to get people to clean up their act.

In 2019, the Ministry of Environment set aside T$3.24bil for a six-year plan to upgrade public toilets across Taiwan. As at 2022, at least 2,958 facilities have been upgraded so that they would be able to take the strain of users flushing down toilet paper, it said.

However, according to a July 2023 survey by the ministry, more than half of Taiwanese – some 55% – still dispose of their toilet paper in rubbish bins, with many citing concerns over sewerage systems getting choked.

Besides creating an unpleasant toilet experience for others, experts say that smelly bins stuffed with sullied toilet paper are a breeding ground for bacteria, pests and diseases.

In an informational fact sheet, the ministry said that flushing toilet paper reduces the spread of cholera, typhoid and dysentery, among other diseases, and prevents the breeding of mosquitoes and flies.

“Environmental cleanliness and public health are indicators of national progress,” the ministry said, stressing its push to get people to kick the habit of targeting bins instead of porcelain.

It will take years before people change their toilet habits, said Professor Jeffrey Lee from the National Taichung University of Science and Technology, who has done extensive research on the design of Taiwan’s public toilets.

“For a long time, the majority of Taiwanese households relied on septic tanks, which would overflow if they were not pumped regularly,” he said. These tanks are typically located beneath homes and not linked to a sewerage system.

“So people would always say, ‘Don’t throw paper down the toilet bowl, or everything will be clogged’.

“Parents would teach that to their children, and their children would grow up teaching that to the next generation,” he said.

Since the 2000s, most homes, at least in the more developed cities in Taiwan, are connected to a central sewerage system, and people in these homes can flush freely.

Tseng said that he hopes more Taiwanese will change their potty habits as bins filled with dirty toilet paper are “embarrassing” for a developed economy. — The Straits Times/ANN