a toilet waste question

possum · Post: # 62989Post **possum** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 3:37 am

I suppose the luxury solution is to get a bidet - no toilet paper required then

Millymollymandy · Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:39 am

ohareward wrote:Hi all. I just need to clear up one small thing first. When people talk about loo rolls, are you talking about the cardboard part or just the paper. Loo rolls will block up the pipes. Toilet paper is usually made out of stuff that is okay for septic tanks. It breaks down quite readily.
Here is a site that explains how the system works.

www.totalfrance.com/france/fiches.php?fiche_id=48

Our system has three tanks. When the crust builds up (or down in this case) and the sludge builds up and there is less room for the water, we then get a firm in to suck it all out. This is done about every 3-4 years depending on the number of people using the system. When it is emptied a sachet of bacteria in a soluble plastic bag is put in the toilet last thing at night, flushed, and left to start the process again. On the web site it said that if you take all the sludge out it will take about a year to start again. This why we put the sachet in straight after. The contents are taken to the council sewage works and disposed of.

Robin

Robin they mean toilet paper, not the cardboard bit.

Our septic tanks in france work pretty much like you say above - they should be emptied about every 4 years. We put a bacteria sachet down the loo every 3 months - here you can buy stuff that you either put down every week or the one we use.

They recommend you put another sachet down if anyone in the family (or visiting) is on antibiotics too.

Finally regarding putting toilet paper down the loo or not, I think it is to do with the pipework and not the actual septic tank which is the reason. I remember Greek toilets fondly too (not!).

lol I just noticed the link you gave is to Total France, you'll find me on that forum!!!

Annpan · Post: # 63006Post **Annpan** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:27 am

Sounds to me like the size of the waste pipes are smaller, and for a while I was wondering how most people cope... it must be bidets. I can not believe that most people put there waste in the bin, say in urban areas for example, it would be a public refuse nightmare, so people must use water to cleanse.

Going back to the Sheryl Crow comment of a few months ago, maybe this is what she was refering to.

Clara · Post: # 63020Post **Clara** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:51 am

Annpan wrote:Sounds to me like the size of the waste pipes are smaller, and for a while I was wondering how most people cope... it must be bidets. I can not believe that most people put there waste in the bin, say in urban areas for example, it would be a public refuse nightmare, so people must use water to cleanse.

Going back to the Sheryl Crow comment of a few months ago, maybe this is what she was refering to.

NO REALLY WE USE IT AND PUT IT IN THE BIN

.......and most people landfill that, itÂ´s not something the Spanish would think twice about.

chadspad · Post: # 63025Post **chadspad** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:58 am

You'll find me on TotalFrance site too!!

Our fosse is similar sort of thing again. We can put toilet paper down it but nothing else, no wipes or sanitary products.

Annpan · Post: # 63030Post **Annpan** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:28 am

Clara wrote:
Annpan wrote:Sounds to me like the size of the waste pipes are smaller, and for a while I was wondering how most people cope... it must be bidets. I can not believe that most people put there waste in the bin, say in urban areas for example, it would be a public refuse nightmare, so people must use water to cleanse.

Going back to the Sheryl Crow comment of a few months ago, maybe this is what she was refering to.
NO REALLY WE USE IT AND PUT IT IN THE BIN .......and most people landfill that, itÂ´s not something the Spanish would think twice about.

No,no,no, sorry I wasn't argueing that this is not done, I just thought that maybe not everyone puts it all in the bin. I was meaning in urban areas, where communal bins are used (apartments for example) that perhaps there would be another method that the locals use, or are the bins collected more often?
Bidets are much more popular on the continent that they are here, so I don't think that I am being entirely stupid by putting the 2 together.

Millymollymandy · Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:42 am

I can't speak for Spain, but.....

I've never seen a Greek bidet

and......

In France the bidet, if there is one, is located in the bathroom.

The toilet is located in the toilet. Which is not necessarily anywhere near the bathroom, or even a hand basin.

Work that one out!

Annpan · Post: # 63176Post **Annpan** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:29 am

Hmmm

Millymollymandy · Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:52 am

Anyway, if the Spanish are anything like the French, they'll pee anywhere in public. Probably more than they do at home, which would solve the toilet paper problem.

And I'm not just talking about men here either!

catalyst · Post: # 63818Post **catalyst** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:57 pm

we're in portugal, bit further north.
its the pipes. in cafes here you will see a little bin near the toilet, for your toilet paper, as it will clog the pipes. and every house has to have a bidet to get a habitation license - which is crazy but makes more sense than paper in sewage, or sewage in water!!

if you are in the sticks, why not build yourself a compost toilet and save all that lovely nutrient-rich matter for your veggies. I posted this link on another thread, of our new compost loo:

http://www.portugalsmallholding.org/page/2/

roundthebend · Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:51 am

Must do the same thing in japan.................japanese guests at the b&b i used to own, used to wipe and bin too

Thurston Garden · Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:13 am

You can drastically cut down on your paper use by adopting the UK military method which is taught to trainees when they are first issued with 24 hour ration packs for use in the field. Each 24 hour ration pack has 1 square of toilet paper. The course instructor's chat went something like this:

Fold your paper in half and then in half again to form a square. Then, find the corner which is actually the centre of the sheet of toilet paper and carefully tear the corner off. Put the torn off corner somewhere safe. When you unfold the paper, there is a round hole in the centre of the sheet. Insert your middle finger through the hole and then get down to business on your derriÃ¨re.

Once wiping is complete, with the non wiping hand, pull the paper up your wiping finger, cleaning it as you go. Then, clean under your wiping finger nail with the torn off corner which you put somewhere safe.

Strangely, in 6 years of RN service, I never knew anyone to adopt the taught method.

ohareward · Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:44 am

Most of our sewage pipes are 100mm diameter. All public toilets have a recepticle for women to put their sanitary stuff in, as that is very likely to block up the works.

Robin

Paul · Post: # 65995Post **Paul** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:14 am

Ive found this most Funny

Ive spent time working/Travaling abroad, In Turkey/Middle east/India/Nepal, sewer pipes are very small, also there are no toilet pans, just "Elephant Feet" and squat; loo paper [If you cant adopt the left hand and tap system] goes into a waste paper basket, the smell & Flys
are another matter.
waste paper is then burnt.
It was nice to get back to "Western Toilets" !

Paul

catalyst · Post: # 66020Post **catalyst** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:35 am

aaah, but those western toilets are an environmental nightmare.
everybody should read the Humanure Handbook, and as peak oil hits we are gonna need every form of fertiliser we can get our hands on....

i just spent a few days in the Uk, and i found myself trying to not use the toilets until i got home :)
i hate to see those nutrients flushed away....