To flush, or not to flush?

***Disclaimer: If you are eating, I'd recommend checking back later. We're discussing bathroom etiquette today.

In many stalls in many bathrooms throughout Taiwan, there is a little trash can situated next to the toilet. It is apparently widely understood that, upon completing what we can refer to as "#2," the tissue should be placed in the trash can, and not flushed down the toilet.

(It's about to get graphic...)

This custom raises a lot of questions and crosses many, many moral boundaries. I understand the fear of clogging the pipes, but honestly, if what I just flushed can make it through the plumbing, then a little bit of wet paper should have no problem following it. I'm just sayin'.

And here's another thing: I don't want to smell, and I REALLY don't want to see the remnants of your business while I'm taking care of mine. It's a bit nauseating, to say the least. Along those same lines, Taiwan has some really interesting, greasy foods that sometimes don't agree with my stomach. Therefore, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you also don't want to have to look at my very own oil-spill clean up efforts. It's just gross, and we'll leave it at that.

According to my ClustrMaps counter (which tracks where/when you people check my blog, so yes, I know there are more than 10), 79 viewers that are located in Taiwan have checked my blog in the past month and a half.

If you are one of those 50 people (because let's be honest, at least 30 of those views are from me), please continue reading:

When researching for this post, I stumbled across this Reuters article. If you aren't interested in clicking it, look here:

It's called "Flush so we don't blush, Taiwan city says," with {commentary from me!}

(Reuters) - A city in south Taiwan began training potty users this week to flush toilet paper instead of throwing it in the trash, to reduce 340 tonnes of stinky waste generated daily, local media and officials said on Tuesday. {Potty training?? Is the bowl so small that they need to practice their aim?}

"An old habit is to throw toilet paper in the trash can beside the toilet, which causes a major stink that's bad for public sanitation," city Environmental Protection Bureau Director Chang Hwang-jen told Reuters.

"Japanese and Western visitors {That's me!!} who come to Taiwan find this Taiwan toilet habit to be quite poor," she added.

Taiwan's plumbing can now handle toilet paper without clogging the pipes, a break from the past, the city of Tainan told its 764,000 citizens at a news conference {was the conference called for this reason only? because that's awesome} on Monday.

Leaders in other Taiwan cities haven't gotten off the pot on the issue, Chang said. {haha, I get it!}

Toilet sitters in Taiwan and China customarily target {implying they don't always hit it?} trash bins instead of the porcelain because of pipe backup worries. Clogged pipes in Tainan are caused by the flushing of other objects, such as toothbrushes, Chang said.

Sticking non-recyclable toilet paper in the trash also costs the city T$4,600 ($151) per tonne, or T$600 million per year, to treat, local media said. {that's basically like wiping your ass with dolla bills.}

This article is almost 2 years old, and I can assure you that not everyone has converted. This is my effort to spread the word.

Well, Taiwan. The ball is in your court, and the paper is in your hand. Where do you want to put it?

(and stop flushing toothbrushes down the toilet...)

Extended reading: http://www.poopreport.com/Techniques/good_ass_bad_ass.html