Environmental Management Administration

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.

• When using public restrooms, follow the signs to use the toilet correctly, use an appropriate amount of dispersible toilet paper and flush it down the toilet, throw other foreign objects into the trash can, and help maintain drainage pipes and a clean public restroom environment.
• 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 blockage, they should not be flushed down the toilet.
• 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.

• On Aug. 12, 2025, the Ministry of Environment amended the "Guidelines for Promoting Flushing Toilet Paper" and notified various ministries, councils, offices, and public restroom management units within cities and counties to jointly promote it. The guidelines state that toilet paper provided in public restrooms must comply with national standard CNS1091; an appropriate amount of public restroom toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet after use; vending machines outside public restrooms should sell toilet paper complying with national standard CNS1091; and items that cannot be flushed include hair, stocking, sanitary pads, food waste, wet wipes, rags, toys, plastics, condoms, and cigarette butts, etc. to avoid blocking pipes or septic tanks.
• The Ministry of Environment subsidizes local governments to construct or repair public restrooms, improve hardware facilities, and elevate public restroom environment quality. It has also formulated a promotion plan for elevating restroom culture, advocating correct toilet use, flushing toilet paper, cleaning up one's own mess, treating oneself as the next user, and maintaining a clean and comfortable restroom to provide users with a comfortable, safe, and dignified toileting environment. Currently, there is a wide variety of signs and slogans posted inside public restrooms. Currently, there are countless styles for signs and slogans posted within public restroom stalls; this plan provides templates of signs or slogans for public restroom management units to utilize and post in restrooms to advocate restroom culture and make it clear to users at a glance.
• The Ministry of Environment also requested public restroom management units that vending machines outside public restrooms sell dispersible toilet paper instead of facial tissues for public purchase.

In response to Taiwan entering a super-aged society (population over 65 exceeds 20% of the total population), sitting toilets can reduce the risk of falling for those with knee joint degeneration and mobility impairments and is therefore safer and more friendly. There have been cases where seniors used public restrooms and, due to the lack of sitting toilets, could only use squatting toilets, but fell inside the stall and required family members to enter and assist them to leave. To protect the toileting rights of all users, the Ministry of Environment is promoting the gradual increase of sitting toilets. The goal is to ensure those who need sitting toilets have sitting toilets, and those accustomed to squatting toilets still have the coice of squatting toilets, expanding public options rather than depriving them. At this stage, squatting toilets will not be completely discarded, nor will the number of squatting toilets decrease. They will be retained based on usage habits and actual needs, balancing the convenience and dignity of all types of users. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment also requires public restroom management units to provide sanitary supplies such as alcohol, seat disinfectant, or toilet seat covers, which can be used to clean toilet seats, elevating protective measures and reducing public concerns about infectious bacteria on contact surfaces.

In response to the public's concern about toilet seat hygiene, the Ministry of Environment asks registered public restroom management units to provide sanitary supplies such as alcohol, seat disinfectant, or toilet seat covers, which can be used to clean toilet seats. Users can spray, wipe, or cover toilet seats and use them without worry.