Walking into the cubicle of the public toilet, there is often a small paper basket next to the toilet, which is full of yellow and white things, not only the public toilet, but also many friends’ own toilets, and often prepare a similar small paper basket for storing used ones toilet paper. However, there are also many people who do not have such facilities in their bathrooms, so they wipe, throw, and flush.

So the question is, who is right? Should I throw this toilet paper in the paper basket or directly into the toilet?

Let’s start with the conclusion. In most cases now, throwing toilet paper directly into the toilet will not bring serious consequences, but there are some special circumstances that need to be paid attention to. Why do you say that?

1. Is the small paper basket by the toilet useful?

Decades ago, what many people could use after going to the toilet were right-sized stones, corn on the cob, bark, leaves, straw, newspapers, and so on. After a while, people gradually used yellow and rough horse manure paper, and then there was crepe toilet paper, etc. This kind of paper has thick fibers and is very strong. Used toilet paper is really easy to clog.

Therefore, in the past, the small paper basket next to the toilet really played the role of "guarding" the toilet.

But now it's really not so necessary to do so, why do you say that?

Second, if you can throw the toilet, you need to see what "paper" is

Rolled paper, tissue paper, paper towels... Although these daily necessities all carry the word "paper", their friendliness to the toilet is quite different.

For example, our commonly used roll paper is the default toilet configuration. This kind of paper is soaked in water and stirred a little, and it will easily turn into a pile of crumbs. I believe everyone has forgotten it when washing clothes. The painful experience of taking out the toilet paper...

If you think about it a little, you can see that throwing a few pieces of toilet paper into the toilet is easy to be "shattered" under the impact of the water flow. Of course, it is impossible to block it, and naturally there is no need for a paper basket.

Therefore, in most cases now, toilet paper can be thrown directly into the toilet and flushed away.

In addition, according to the currently implemented national standard GB/T related to toilet paper In 20810-2018 "Toilet Paper (including toilet paper base paper)", there is also a section on the test of dispersibility of paper.

Roughly speaking, put a certain amount of paper into a plum blossom tube filled with 5L of water, then rotate and ventilate, and the paper will be broken within 40 seconds to pass. Therefore, the toilet paper that meets the relevant standards can be flushed directly without putting too much pressure on the toilet.

But other types of paper are not necessarily suitable for toilets.

Take tissue paper and paper towels for example. We all know that these types of papers tend to be thicker and more flexible, usually because the fibers used in these types of papers are longer, and they have added ingredients that retain their strength when wet. Therefore, even if it gets wet and wipes the face, it can still maintain its integrity, while with the roll paper, it often wipes out an annoying white foam on the face. There are also some kitchen paper towels, which have to be kept wet and not broken, not to mention that some paper towels for heavy work are simply chemical fiber non-woven fabrics. Throwing "paper" like this will indeed clog the toilet, but don't throw it directly into the toilet.

If you want to flush toilet paper directly, in addition to paper, toilets and pipes are also important factors. Today's flush toilets are not small, and the pipes are usually thick, so there is no problem with toilet paper. However, if it is an old toilet, the flushing force of the toilet may be weak, and the pipeline may become narrow and rough due to deposition and corrosion. In this case, direct flushing may also have hidden dangers.

Third, it's time to say goodbye to this small wastebasket

The small paper basket next to the toilet once had its function, but now, it is indeed a bit outdated.

First of all, this kind of paper basket is unsanitary, smells unpleasant, and is easy to breed bacteria, attracting flies to spread diseases.

Secondly, the toilet paper thrown into the paper basket is often incinerated or landfilled, which may increase pollution and energy consumption, and it is actually more environmentally friendly to throw it directly into the toilet and flush it away. Because toilet paper actually produces less pollutants when it goes into the sewer, and it can be purified more easily in sewage treatment plants.

In order to completely bid farewell to this small wastebasket, all aspects are also working hard.

For example, researchers have been working hard to develop new paper-making technologies to make toilet paper that does not leak a hand when wiping, but dissolves quickly in water. For example, some paper towels and wet toilet paper, although they look thick, can also be safely flushed down the toilet.

Finally, we need to change our concept. When everyone realizes that toilet paper can be flushed directly into the toilet, this small paper basket can become history.

We have gone through the changes of stone→horse dung paper→toilet paper, and open air→aqua toilet→flush toilet, and now is the time to say goodbye to this small paper basket. Perhaps, only those warriors who have to use A4 paper to clean up in emergencies will miss this small wastebasket in the future.