What happens when plane toilets flush - and where the waste goes when you travel
dailyrecord.co.ukFor fliers, it's a question that's likely crossed your mind: what happens when you flush on a plane? Whether you're a happy traveller or an anxious one, you've no doubt wondered where the waste goes and why on Earth the flush is so loud and sudden.
The tiny cubicles we call aeroplane toilets are probably a place you'd rather not think of, you can't help but wonder.First off, waste is not simply dropped out the bottom of a plane to rain down on those on the ground.
The truth is that, for the last 30 years, planes have used vacuum toilets to avoid carrying unnecessary water which would drastically add weight to the aircraft, the Mirror reports.
According to Gizmodo : "Pressing the flush button opens a valve in the bottom of the bowl, exposing the contents to a pneumatic vacuum. "That vac sucks the load down the plane's sewer line into a 200-gallon holding tank." The toilets also have a sort of Teflon non-stick coating to assist in pulling the waste down.
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