Icelanders Flush Four Times More Garbage Down The Toilet Than Swedes

Yesterday was World Toilet Day, a day set aside to raise awareness for the fact that billions of people around the world lack a standard toilet, which in turn contributes to water contamination, disease and death. However, this is not the only cause for concern where toilets are involved.

Cooking oil, wet wipes, sanitary pads and fat are amongst the items regularly dumped down the toilet in Iceland, despite these items being entirely unsuited for the toilet. Icelanders in fact flush for times more garbage down the toilet than Swedes do, Kjarninn reports.

The vast majority of treated sewage in Iceland is dumped into the sea. However, the garbage that people flush down the toilet has at times led to sewage treatment malfunctions that can spell trouble for the waters around the country.

In rural areas, the situation can be even worse. Numerous municipalities in the countryside still do not have a sewage treatment system that properly deals with household bathroom waste, in some cases over 15 years behind current regulations. The influx in tourism has also had an impact on the national sewage system in particular, and on water quality in general.

As a standard rule, the only things that belong in the toilet are those which are produced by the human body. Anything else should be disposed of in one’s household garbage or recycled, when possible.