[AnkitaA (OP)]

Irene asks:

"My husband and I have traveled to South America on 3 occasions over the last 6 years visiting Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. In each of these countries, irrespective of whether we have been in a major city, such as Lima, or a rural town, the request is made for us not to throw toilet paper into the toilet but place it in bins instead. This has not occurred when we traveled to Europe or North America, So why does the South American sewerage system not cope with toilet paper while that in Europe and North America does?"

Do you know?

[chris]

Maybe they are using a digesting toilet / septic tank (rather than mains drainage) that gets constipated if you add too much bog roll...?

[alancalverd]

Parts of Greece and Italy suffer from the same problem. I have a septic tank that digests with pretty well everything. I suspect the problem may be narrow-bore foul pipes.

[flummoxed]

If there is no sewage farm locally, to eficiently deal with the waste then certainly in rural areas they will be using septic tanks, which don't like detergents and toilet paper. If a septic tank is working fine it will digest most of the waste going into it, but it is not as efficient as a sewage farm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septic_tank

Problems with ground water can be an issue, when septic tanks are used. If the water storage is above the septic tanks then there isn't really a problem, ie when the water comes from mountain lakes, on coral atolls however where the drinking water is below the level of any septic tanks then the tanks have to be sealed and emptied to get rid of liquids. Similarly disposal of any kind of waste, human bodies etc can be an issue when ground water is being pumped up from below the level of where the waste is disposed of. Bodies need to be buried in concrete lined graves on some coral atolls to prevent them from decomposing and contaminating into the water systems below.  The island of Nuie for example do this to prevent contaminating the water supply.

[Hayseed]

I was told that it was the toilet paper.  The toilet paper at certain countries will not dissolve like ours.  It clogs everything.

[RD]

... septic tank ... digests with pretty well everything ...

Not quite everything ...
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/human-remains-found-in-septic-tank-could-be-those-of-farmers-wife-who-disappeared-in-1982