What happens to toilet paper?

Asked by: Nina Perkins, Knutsford

Toilet paper is made from short cellulose fibres, which is why it tears so easily. In water, those fibres quickly come untangled and form a thin sludge that’s easily carried by the water flow in the sewage system.By the time it reaches the sewage treatment plant, most of the toilet paper has completely disintegrated, and goes straight to the sludge digester tanks to be broken down into compost, along with the actual poop.

Anything more robust than toilet paper, such as flushable wipes, doesn’t break down, though, and has to be removed using a system of mesh filters, before going for landfill or incineration.

Read more:

• Who really invented the flushing toilet?
• Why is there poo on the Moon?