If not down the toilet and shower, then what do you do?
Don't use the Toilet as a Rubbish Bin!
Keep a rubbish bin in the bathroom and toilet for used products. It only needs to be a small bin.
If you have a toilet in a room separate from the bathroom, keep another bin in there.
Put a bag as a liner in the bin to keep it clean.
What you should do
| Disposable nappies, liners and wipes | You can flush away the solids from a nappy down your toilet. Wrap the rest well and put in the bin.
Sealable nappy disposal bags are available from supermarkets and pharmacies, as are reusable nappies. |
| Razor blades | To avoid injury, put used blades in a solid container such as a plastic jar that you were going to throw away anyway, and put that in with the household rubbish when it is full. |
| Sanitary towels, tampons and panty liners | Wrap well and put them in the bin.
Special disposal bags are available at pharmacies and supermarkets. In public toilets, place these items in the sanitary disposal bin provided. |
| Condoms, incontinence pants, and used plasters and bandages | Wrap well and put them in the bin. |
| Packaging, toilet roll tubes, contact lenses, cotton buds, backing strips | Put them in the bin. |
| Medicines | Do not flush them down your toilet or put them in with your household rubbish.
They will kill the natural bugs that clean the sewage or will contaminate the landfill.
Return all unwanted, out of date, or left over medicines to your local pharmacy for safe disposal. Always keep medicines out of reach of children. |
Used syringes and needles
|
Where you don't have an arrangement with your pharmacist for your "syringes and needles" you can go to the: Needle Exchange Programme. People should contact their local pharmacy first for advice. |
Empty the bins at least once a week. If you are careful about wrapping things in sheets of toilet paper or facial tissue then you can tip the contents of the liner into the household rubbish bag and need not regularly replace the liner.
See our
Toilet Rubbish flyer (98k pdf)
for more information.
Next
For more information, go to the Bathroom and Toilet page.
Click here for the Gully Trap Do's.