Not allowed to flush loo roll

[userc]

Looking for advice please.

Live in a rented apartment, there are ongoing issues with drainage which management have largely ignored for the last couple of years (i.e., dealing with emergencies and then not taking advice that proper maintenance was needed). Big flood yesterday. Pipe is "compromised" and apparently is a big job to replace due to various structural issues.

Have now been instructed that toilet paper must not be flushed down and instead must be taken to general waste, which is down 6 flights of stairs and across the road for people on the top floors. Email breezily states other countries do this as a matter of course, and that we need to adjust our habits. They do not give a date as to when this is fixed, but it is likely to be months (I heard six).

AIBU to think this is crackers? You have a guest round, you insist they must put toilet roll in a bin and if it's a poo you'll just nip out across the road?!

If I was in a big family home that I owned I'd move to something like reuseable cloths or installing a bidet, but this is something I can't afford nor feel like I should be forced to. E.g., I run my washing machine twice a week (& don't have a tumble dryer) and it's already incredibly expensive.

Any advice?

The poo is flushed down the toilet. It's the toilet paper going into the bin.
If your toilet paper is thick with poo then you have a problem with your diet!

I lived for many years in Greece and to answer some posters questions :

Paper, and anything non biological waste, is binned not flushed in Greece, not because of EU (what a weird idea), but when the sewage pipes where first laid in Greece they were made much narrower than European standards. Interesting fact: the train tracks in Greece are also made narrower than European standards
You just use lined pedal bins, once bin liner is full just take the rubbish out. If you feel ackward carrying the bathroom bin bag, shove ur bathroom bin bag into other household black bag and take it out all together.

As a non English person I am often fascinated that English people find other cultural habits yuck, but are OK with washing dishes in a bowl of soapy water and not rinse the soap afterwards. To me that's truly yuck, eating off plates coated in dirty soap water.

Thinking about it and also looking at the hellotushy website, all you really need is a pop top bottle full of water. Pop the top, direct the flow and clean everythings. Perfect 👌

I set this information out earlier in the thread, there are many of us with conditions like IBS or crohns disease and others where that unfortunately will be the case sometimes and its highly distressing.

But then you’d still end up with dirty tissue that needs disposing of, wouldn’t you? I don’t see how they’re an alternative to paper.

No, that is not okay! The suggestion that you should accept it because it's the norm in certain other places is ridiculous. Frankly, I don't care how they do it elsewhere.

They seem very blasé about it, with that remark about it being common practice in other countries.

I work in a related industry and have indirect dealings with these scenarios (though I have never come across the situation where customers cannot flush loo roll for months!)

Where frequent blockages are occurring, we would arrange for routine mitigation, i.e someone goes and clears out the drains (daily if needed) to avoid them backing up and flooding properties whilst the repairs are planned in. As I say I have indirect dealings with this side of things so I don’t know if it’s something that is possible with all drains, but they could atleast attempt it (my guess is they haven’t arranged it due to costs). I’d certainly suggest or try to find out if this is possible.

@FolornLawn You don't use tissue, just a towel, because your bottom and everything else will clean.

@userc If you go to an Indian grocers, they sell what looks like round fat watering cans with an extremely long nozzle. They are used for washing bums too. You can pick one up for a few pounds.

And another thought. Could you contact environmental health about it? Surely a fully functioning toilet is a requirement? Even prisoners get that!

I love that the EU is being blamed and that toileting habits practised in many other countries is “draconian”

Exactly this.
Not acceptable in 21st century Britain.

5 pages in and no one has mentioned the amount of plastic bags needed for this - it's kinda refreshing.

I don’t think human bodily waste can be disposed of in ‘general waste’ as it is a biohazard! I’d contact environmental health, send them a copy of the e-mail & ask their advice. Least it will do is maybe get the building management to fix the problem quicker.

I could imagine them asking people not to flush anything other than pee & poop until the work has been done to clear/fix the blockage issue because it will help prevent it getting worse/happening again.
In this case they should probably be giving residents biohazard bags that can then be disposed in a provided biohazard bin - you’ll still need to take that to the waste area - that is then taken away & incinerated by an appropriate company.

The blockage/compromised pipe issue has possibly been a combination of older pipe system, wipes being flushed & lack of proper maintenance!

How do you work that out? How do you think nappies are disposed of, in the general waste of course.

I lived in Cyprus for 2 years and they don’t flush their toilet paper either. At first I was disgusted by it, but I soon stopped thinking about it. Buy a small pedal bin and get some scented bin liners or nappy bags. It won’t smell.

It sounds like they really should be sorting it but for the meantime, you can buy a portable bidet for under £15. If you spray your bottom first, you use less loo roll and it’s less smelly.

Put the used toilet paper in nappy bags and keep in a sealed bin as you would dog poo or cat litter or used nappies - you cannot flush dog or cat poo. Do you have a saniflo system?

There is a fault/issue. You have all been made aware of it. Nobody can resolve this overnight and you just need to bag a bit of paper etc.

Just do it.

"I don’t think human bodily waste can be disposed of in ‘general waste’ as it is a biohazard!

Don't be silly. Where do you think sanpro goes?

I’d be mightily pissed off too but if there really is no way around it I’d suggest getting a handheld bidet, they’re great.

Can I just clarify something. I have a disability which includes bowel and bladder incontinence. I have a collection of a ‘medical’ bin in which I have to put all bodily waste, which has to be double bagged and includes toilet paper products which cannot be flushed down the loo. I have to pay for this, as it is not covered in the standard bin collection service. I was advised by the council that in the UK, you can’t just put toilet paper soiled with faeces in the ordinary bin, you have to contact your council who will assess your needs and will make the appropriate charge for extra collections if they deem it necessary, as if you put soiled toilet paper in the bin, no matter how you bag it, it will smell in the two week period which is standard for bin collections. I would be informing your landlord of this and asking whether they are prepared to pay extra for the additional collections which will be necessary - assuming you are even allowed to do this once the council have carried out the assessment.

Babies nappies are different. Adult human waste cannot be disposed of in general waste without appropriate services being assessed by the local council.

They do this in Turkey but they have bidet toilets there so I think they are being unreasonable. Contact EH and see what they say as faeces should not be in general waste as its clinical waste. Are they not proper plumbed in toilets?

How do I work what out, by the way >. I’m living it !! Had several highly embarrassing interviews with council officials each time I’ve moved house and had to apply for the medical bin for bodily waste, for which there is a charge. Babies nappies are a totally different matter and don’t present the bio hazard that adult poo does.

I have a stoma so use colostomy bags. I bag these and take them outside every day to my special orange bag, provided by PHS who collect every week. I do not pay for this. There is also a free spiked nappies collection up to age 3 which is also free.