Environmental Management Administration

After a disaster occurs, the administration works with local governments to assist environmental recovery efforts, including:

• Coordinating personnel and cleanup equipment.
• Assisting with garbage removal from streets, residential areas, and public spaces.
• Removing mud and disaster-related waste.
• Carrying out environmental disinfection.
• Assisting in restoring waste transfer operations and environmental protection facilities.
• Inspecting coastlines and removing drifted debris.

The following key points should be observed during post-disaster environmental cleanup:

• Remove garbage, mud, and standing water as quickly as possible.
• Give priority to sorting and transporting perishable waste.
• Place bulky waste as designated.
• Cooperate with environmental disinfection and mosquito control measures.
• Keep homes and surrounding areas clean to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

Waste collection and transportation will be planned according to conditions in the affected area. Environmental protection authorities in each city or county should identify suitable nearby locations to serve as waste transfer stations. Waste and mud placed on streets by the public will be loaded onto trucks and removed from the streets using a system of daytime short-distance consolidation and nighttime long-distance transport. During the day, waste is centrally collected and stored at transfer stations, where appropriate disinfection is carried out. At night, larger trucks transport the waste to landfills or incineration facilities for disposal. This approach avoids daytime traffic congestion, significantly improves transportation efficiency, and helps restore street cleanliness more quickly.

Large furniture, appliances, and other bulky waste generated by a disaster should be placed at designated temporary collection sites or removed according to procedures announced by local governments. They should not be discarded on roads or in public areas, as this may obstruct disaster relief efforts and traffic.

The public can handle waste according to the following principles. After a disaster, waste should be sorted and then disposed of in accordance with local government regulations.

• Prioritize the handling of perishable waste

  Separate perishable and foul-smelling food waste from other garbage so that environmental authorities can give it priority for collection and disposal, reducing odors and mosquito breeding.

• Proper placement of bulky waste

  Large furniture and appliances that do not decompose easily should be placed at temporary collection sites designated by environmental authorities to avoid obstructing disaster relief operations and traffic.

• Centralized transfer to improve efficiency

  For waste generated in residential and market areas, environmental authorities will first use small machinery to collect and transport it to temporary hubs. Short-distance consolidation takes place during the day, while long-distance transportation is carried out at night to avoid rush hours and accelerate the restoration of street cleanliness.

• Disinfection is essential

  Appropriate disinfection measures will be carried out during the transfer process. Members of the public can also assist by cleaning their yards and drainage ditches to prevent mosquito breeding.

The first 48 hours after a disaster are a critical period for environmental recovery. The sooner garbage, standing water, and mud are removed, the greater the reduction in environmental pollution, mosquito breeding, and disease transmission risks. Early cleanup also helps accelerate waste removal and the community's return to normal life.

If garbage, mud, and standing water are not promptly removed after a disaster, they can lead to environmental pollution, mosquito breeding, unpleasant odors, and the spread of disease. They may also hinder disaster relief efforts, transportation, and community recovery. Completing environmental cleanup as early as possible not only improves living conditions but also helps reduce environmental health risks and enables affected areas to return to normal operations more quickly.

Flushing toilet paper down the toilet can reduce many environmental hygiene problems. Benefits include:

• Reducing mosquito and fly breeding.
• Reducing the spread of germs and diseases.
• Reducing odors in restrooms.
• Enhancing maintenance workers' and cleaners' hygienic safety.
• Enhancing restroom environment quality; users feel more comfortable as well.

• Toilet paper is dispersibile as it's short fiber material, allowing it to quickly disperse in water and not clog the toilet. Human excrement is partly long fiber and is flushable in the toilet; therefore, flushing used toilet paper down the toilet will not cause a blockage.
• The S-bend within the toilet has a diameter of around two inches, while the sewage pipe in the back is as wide as four inches. Paired with toilet paper's dispersibility and short fiber material, appropriate amounts of toilet paper flushed normally should pass through without a problem and not cause blockage.

Most toilet paper currently available on the market shows clear "Flushable" and "Dispersible in Water" marks on the packaging. These products can be flushed down the toilet in appropriate amounts without worry.

Based on experience, items that cause blockage include hair, stockings, sanitary pads, food waste, rags, toys, plastics, condoms, and cigarette butts. As these are not toilet paper and can cause blockages, they should not be flushed down the toilet.

Old drainage systems have four major structural problems, including:

• Narrowed pipe diameter: due to iron pipe corrosion or grease adhesion, the original four-inch drain pipe may only have two inches of space left, similar to vascular sclerosis.
• Insufficient slope: insufficient waterflow velocity causes solid matter to not be carried away smoothly and thus easily deposited in the pipe.
• Uneven joints: protruding pipe joints in old houses or tree root invasions easily trap paper fiber.
• Poor ventilation: buildings should have ventilation pipes installed to balance air pressure. If the pipes are blocked or ventilation pipes are not installed, it will exacerbate drainage resistance.

Therefore, toilet paper can be flushed down toilets of old restrooms. The best policy is to review the overall plumbing structure of restrooms, repair ventilation systems, and clear pipes regularly. It is recommended that public restroom management units and the public face the problem of aging pipelines, promote replacing old systems, and jointly create and implement a new culture of civilized toileting.

Reference: Chairman Kuo Chi-tz, Taiwan Institute of Property Management

The causes of traditional, old septic tank blockages are as follows:

• "Lump hardening" inside the septic tank: this is the most common cause of blockage. A septic tank is not a simple water tank; it relies on bacteria to decompose organic matter. When grease and food waste enter the septic tank, they cool and solidify, combining with excrement to form "saponified lumps" as hard as rocks. These hard lumps float on the surface or accumulate at the water inlet, causing the toilet to flush poorly, or even back up completely. Therefore, please do not throw food waste into the toilet.
• Outlet (filter pipe) blockage: a septic tank is usually divided into three compartments. After the water flows through layers of precipitation, it is finally discharged from the outlet. If items that cannot be dispersed or decomposed, such as sanitary pads, wet wipes, or large amounts of hair, are flushed and cause a blockage, foreign objects get stuck in the filter pipe between the tanks, and water is unable to flow out. When the septic tank water level is too high, lower floor toilets start to bubble or gurgle.
• The septic tank is full (time to pump septage): "capacity saturation" also causes blockage. Decomposed residue (septage) settles at the bottom of the tank and accumulates higher and higher as years go by without pumping. When there is insufficient space, solids that should have settled directly block the septic tank pipes.

Therefore, flushing toilet paper down the toilet does not cause traditional, old septic tanks to block. Regular inspection of toilet pipes and septic tanks is recommended, as well as making adjustments to the frequency of cleaning (septage pumping) as needed.

Reference: Chairman Kuo Chi-tz, Taiwan Institute of Property Management

The following characteristics can be observed to determine the problem:

• If only a single toilet is blocked, and other floors are normal, it may be a local pipe blockage.
• If lower floors bubble/back up, toilets also bubble when flushed, or even emit odors, it may be that the septic tank is blocked or full.
• If flushing is slow throughout the building, and every toilet on every floor performs poorly, there may be an abnormality in the main pipe or septic tank.

Therefore, when public restroom management units and the public encounter the above situations, it is better to seek help from professional experts in related fields.

Reference: Chairman Kuo Chi-tz, Taiwan Institute of Property Management

• Toilet paper provided in public restrooms should comply with national standard dispersibility regulations (CNS 1091). Continuously advocate for and implement flushing toilet paper down the toilet and setting up covered trash cans, unify promotional content such as signs or slogans and post them in restrooms so that users can understand at a glance. Vending machines outside public restrooms should sell dispersible toilet paper instead of facial tissues, providing them for public purchase and use and assisting in the promotion of correct restroom culture and etiquette.
• Post clear and easy-to-understand slogans or icons inside public restrooms to guide the public to follow correct toileting guidelines, promote the use of an appropriate amount of toilet paper, not throwing foreign objects into the toilet, reducing pipe blockages and facility damage, maintaining environmental cleanliness and cherishing public restroom facilities, etc., elevating the public's awareness of maintaining public restrooms.
• Currently, toilet water traps are two inches, and sewage pipes are 4 inches wide. Both toilet paper and excrement can pass through the water trap, and will certainly not cause pipe blockages. Old pipes are not the cause of blockages; blockages are often caused by uncleaned scale. Public restroom management units should regularly inspect pipes, clean pipes, and if pipes rust, they must be replaced.