>[..] an enormous “fatberg” was discovered in the sewers under London. A hellish fifteen-ton lump of cooking fat, congealed with diapers, wet wipes, sanitary towels, and condoms. In videos taken by sewer workers the thing crawls over the walls and ceilings of the grand Victorian drain, its tendrils puffing out from the monumental central mass. A mound of fat the size of a London bus, glistening death-pale in the torchlight; fungal, a saprophage, its terrible bulk blocking off the normal hygienic flows of piss and shit. It took three weeks for the utility company Thames Water to fully repair the drains.

https://thebaffler.com/the-horrordome/the-fatberg-returns

Notice no mention of toilet paper. Normal western toilet paper nearly dissolves when wet.

>Throwing toilet paper in a basket and taking it through the garbage route is a very sensible solution.

Have you lived where this is commonplace for any length of time? Have you done this in your own house? Having been born in a country where this was commonplace a few decades ago, I have a very hard time accepting it as a "sensible solution". It's just gross. I'd much rather pay for spelunking through my property taxes.

Yes I have. It happens to be somewhere where bidets are universal, so the resulting tp isn't so gross.

Surely you can pay for your own staff to clean the toilets. You're asking for infrastructure overhaul for what should be a waste basket with a lid emptied daily.

Surely I can pay for my own anything that my city provides through my taxes, including roads and safe drinking water. I live in a place where I don't, and I like it that way. I much prefer it to dirt tracks and wells. Others may not place such a high value in that. Too bad, they also have to pay property taxes.

It is a good deal for me, I'm not denying that.

I have, and I live in the US and continue to do so. The small bin doesn't seem to smell, and is easy to tie the bag and toss it in the trash bin. I haven't had to unclog a toilet in years.

> The small bin doesn't seem to smell

I put roughly as much credence in that statement as I would a smoker's that he doesn't really smell like smoke, or a dog owner's that his house doesn't really smell that doggy — i.e., none. I don't mean that rudely; I just don't think you notice the odour.

Sure, that may be the cause. My theory has been that the paper to wet matter ratio is high in the paper direction, causing a wicking effect that dries the bin contents quickly.

>I haven't had to unclog a toilet in years.

I too haven't had to unclog a toilet for reasons other than deficient toilets and/or excrement size for years.

> People don't realize how much maintenance sewers need.

What can do about it? I think that education is at fault. Most people in big cities does not realize how costly and important are jobs like sewer maintenance, garbage collectors, signal maintenance, gardeners, etc.

Without all this work cities will paralyze, the population will get sick or die, transport will stop working. etc. Without that work civilization instead of flourishing with economic growth and technology it literally will crumble into ruin.

Cities work because there is an absurdly large amount of people taking care of them. If it was a private endeavor there will be advertisements about their work everywhere. But, as a public service it is almost invisible. That is a shame.

That is pretty much any utility that has high reliability numbers. Same goes with electricity, road work, water, trains, phone service, internet, cell service, etc.

> Throwing toilet paper in a basket and taking it through the garbage route is a very sensible solution

Except most places I've been to and seen the practice have an open basket, I've never seen any soiled toilet paper in them and not entirely sure I'd like to...

Everyone who lives there knows the trick of folding the paper such that the poopy part isn't exposed.

I also find this confusing.

It is customary to put the dirty side down or to fold the dirty paper in half.

I have, and did not enjoy the experience.

Toilet paper isn't the most optimal solution for home use. It is what's been used for millennia but Japanese on-toilet bidets are superior. (American companies have noticed, and have stayed manufacturing their own.) There is an adjustment period, but (and I am not a professional plumber) without the semi-solid waste, I think it would also be better for our sewers.

Cheap toilet paper from wood pulp is only about 150 years old. Before then there was not a lot of spare paper around. Woodpulp paper can be made quickly biodegradable.

> People don't realize how much maintenance sewers need.

I think about this in relation to modern society often these days. So much of the machinations that keep things running are invisible to the daily user.