To Flush or Not to Flush: Change in Taiwan’s Bathroom Etiquette

Is Taiwan ready to change its toilet habits?

The News Lens
Date: 2017/01/24
By: Keith Menconi

Many newcomers to Taiwan are puzzled to find the nation’s bathrooms stocked with one extra piece of equipment: a small trash bin that can be found next to nearly every toilet throughout the country. This puzzlement oftentimes turns into shock when these newcomers are told what that trash can is for. They will soon learn, either from their new landlord or a hastily scrawled sign posted on the wall of a public restroom, that they are under no circumstances to dump their toilet paper into the toilet, but are instead to dispose of it in this very trash bin.

If they take the time to ask, they will quickly be informed that Taiwan’s plumbing just cannot take the added strain of toilet paper flushed down the toilet. Their life will now include the extra chore of cleaning out this bin at regular intervals, bundling up the now befouled toilet paper, and marching off this little parcel to the garbage truck to toss it in along with all the other un-recyclables. It is a system that ensures residents will be intimately involved in the disposal of their own waste, or, when out and about and in need of a public restroom, will have many encounters with the waste recently left behind by others.   [FULL  STORY]