[Atheist]

I've done my fair share of travel around the world and am familiar with the "Eastern" (hole in the floor) vs. "Western" (traditional toilet) style facilities. Recently while in Santo Domingo, I encountered something I've never seen before. There were waste bins next to the toilets in the stalls. It was clearly evident that after using the toilet people would place their used toilet paper in the waste bin, NOT the toilet. It was the most bizarre and unpleasant thing I've seen in a while. All I can say is ... WTF??

Has anyone heard of anything like this?

Oh... and this was in places like the lobby bathroom at the Marriott and the Hard Rock Cafe.

[Jawbone54]

Maybe less water flow, so the smallest amount of TP would clog the toilets?

[Big Mac]

Then you must not have traveled to too many places, because that's fairly common. Some cities in less developed parts of the world don't want you flushing toilet paper because their sewage system is less developed and may get clogged with all that refuse. I was watching the Human Footprint, and while it wasn't a very good show at all, one good point it made was that all the paper that's flushed has be taken out of the system at some point, which is not a pretty picture.

[RAILhead]

DUDE!!!

We've had two GIRLS here at work that do that -- one because she grew up in a home with a septic tank, and one because that's how her Mexican family has always done it.

Needless to say, both girls caused quite a problem. Thankfully, the one was terminated for a different reason -- but the current Public Wiper is still causing issues. We've put up signs, sent email, etc. -- and she just doesn't get it.

I mean come on, people -- even *I* would crap, wipe, and toss the TP into a trash can for all the sodding world to see.

[Atheist]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Then you must not have traveled to too many places, because that's fairly common. Some cities in less developed parts of the world don't want you flushing toilet paper because their sewage system is less developed and may get clogged with all that refuse.

My travels have been limited to mostly Western cultures however I did spend a couple months in Singapore and almost six months in Hong Kong and never saw anything like that. I never saw it in the 2 years I lived in Trinidad either.

Interesting though that it's not such an unusual phenomenon.

Regardless... it's rather disgusting.

[Big Mac]

They didn't want toilet paper flushed in Beijing, IIRC. I must confess thought that I did it anyway because I was only flushing a small amount and was only in the country for a week.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

We've had two GIRLS here at work that do that -- one because she grew up in a home with a septic tank...

She must have had a very tiny septic tank, then. My parents' house has a septic tank and they've lived there almost 30 years. I grew up there and we always flushed the toilet paper. The septic tank was never an issue.

Greece is pretty modern these days, so most public toilets are regular Western-style toilets, but there are a few places that still have the "hole in the floor" squat things. Granted it's a porcelain hole in the floor, and they will accept toilet paper, but...

I remember at a bus station in Greece I really had to go to the toilet but I entered the stall and saw the squat thing... suddenly I didn't have to go that badly.

[ghporter]

In a lot of places in Central America, "plumbing" is a polite way to describe human waste disposal. Typically, the system is not built to handle paper, just wastes, so the used paper is simply disposed in a can (hopefully provided for that purpose) next to the commode. I've been fortunate to not need to use such facilities in my own travels there (Panama and Honduras), but my classmates are going on a working mission to Guatemala in a couple months, and they needed to be briefed thoroughly on what to expect.

I was told that this practice was also common in not-so-urban parts of South Korea, with the explained reason being that human wastes go into the mix of field fertilizers... Don't know how true that is.

In defense of those two girls-try for one day to do your toilet hygiene differently. Maybe use the other hand, maybe lean over in the other direction, or even figure a way to do it with a frontal approach instead of a posterior approach (all of which are valid adaptations for people with functional limitations due to injury or illness). Pretty darn hard to do, isn't it? That's because these hygiene habits are formed at VERY early ages, and they are so over-learned that they are devilishly difficult to overcome. The one girl that's left needs some one-on-one discussion about "our plumbing is built for paper, and our stall trash cans are NOT built for used paper".

[MacosNerd]

I have to say I opened this email with a little trepidation not knowing exactly what you were going to ask in terms of bathroom etiquette.

Anyways since I've not traveled too much this does seem rather strange but seeing the responses, it does make sense. Especially in countries like the DR that may not have a robust waste processing system.

[DerekW69]

My wife and I just finished a three-month stint hosting an exchange student from Mexico. She was a thrower and not a flusher. It was an unpleasant discovery by me when it was my turn to empty the garbage in her bathroom. I'm not making any kind of judgment calls on how the rest of the world does things — that's their business. But even after my wife bluntly told her what to do with her used TP, she kept on doing it her way. So I suppose it is pretty ingrained.

I guess the upshot is that it gave me the something to post in this topic.

That's the only upshot of that story that I could come up with.

[osiris]

Geez, it makes you really appreciate modern plumbing.

[DerekW69]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Geez, it makes you really appreciate modern plumbing.

I will second that emotion.

[subego]

Originally Posted by DerekW69 

But even after my wife bluntly told her what to do with her used TP, she kept on doing it her way. So I suppose it is pretty ingrained.

This confuses me.

I understand what GHP was saying, but can you imagine the reverse?

If the person going through all the trouble to host me insisted I put it in the can instead of flushing, I can't see myself going "well **** that, I do things my way".

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

In defense of those two girls-try for one day to do your toilet hygiene differently. Maybe use the other hand, maybe lean over in the other direction, or even figure a way to do it with a frontal approach instead of a posterior approach (all of which are valid adaptations for people with functional limitations due to injury or illness). Pretty darn hard to do, isn't it? That's because these hygiene habits are formed at VERY early ages, and they are so over-learned that they are devilishly difficult to overcome. The one girl that's left needs some one-on-one discussion about "our plumbing is built for paper, and our stall trash cans are NOT built for used paper".

I tried your little experiment, and goshdarnit, it IS hard to stop defecating in a paper bag and throwing it over the fence into my neighbor's yard!

Maybe we all need to try to mix it up a bit.

[Atheist]

Originally Posted by DerekW69 

I'm not making any kind of judgment calls on how the rest of the world does things — that's their business. But even after my wife bluntly told her what to do with her used TP, she kept on doing it her way. So I suppose it is pretty ingrained.

That's the part I just can't get. I understand how human's are creatures of habit and it's hard to change, however, putting a wad of paper with crap all over it into a waste bin to smell up the place is truly gross. How could someone think it's more gross or peculiar to flush said paper down the toilet?

Hrmpf... damn humans! "Change is bad, change is bad!"

[DerekW69]

Originally Posted by subego 

This confuses me.

I understand what GHP was saying, but can you imagine the reverse?

If the person going through all the trouble to host me insisted I put it in the can instead of flushing, I can't see myself going "well **** that, I do things my way".

I was trying to be nice and saying it was a deeply trained habit, like GHP said. I will agree with you — I can't see myself saying "well **** that..." either. But we, unfortunately, were hosting in the stage where the new has worn off being here and the student says "well **** that, I'm going to do things my way because the way we do them is better." Only they do it without the profanity and with more attitude.

Yes, that is an actual stage, which I didn't find out until we had committed.

[subego]

Originally Posted by DerekW69 

Yes, that is an actual stage, which I didn't find out until we had committed.

That seems like it makes more sense.

On one hand, I'm baffled why someone for whom the "when in Rome" concept doesn't appeal would become an exchange student.

On the other hand, when I was exchange student age, I was a prick.

[DerekW69]

Originally Posted by subego 

On one hand, I'm baffled why someone for whom the "when in Rome" concept doesn't appeal would become an exchange student.

My wife an I asked ourselves that many times. Still don't have an answer.

Originally Posted by subego 

On the other hand, when I was exchange student age, I was a prick.

I still kind of am — or can get there when I need to. So it — and beer — helped in making the best of the situation!

[pooka]

We had some ******** visit us once. We must have run out of toilet paper so he decided to wipe his ass with a beach towel, throw it out the window and attempt to burn the evidence in the backyard.

[Mithras]

It's definitely common practice throughout Central and South America, and I've encountered it here and there in Eastern Europe too.
And hey, folks, habit is a hard thing to break. Ask all the South American hotel and restaurant proprietors who've had to deal with shitty toilets overflowing with American's TP.