Can you flush tampons and pads?
No. Wrap used tampons, applicators and pads, and put them in the bin. They are made to absorb fluid and stay in one piece, so they do not break up in pipes.
Checked: 1 November 2026. Each fact below has a source.
What water utilities say
- Barwon Water: “While it might be convenient, pads, tampons and nappies are super absorbent and should not be flushed down the toilet.”
- Water Corporation: “Sanitary products like tampons, pads, nappies and condoms should not be flushed.”
- Central Highlands Water: “They don’t break down like toilet paper does and can cause major sewer blockages.”
- Yarra Valley Water: “Wet wipes, tissues, sanitary products and rags should be placed in the bin after use and securely and hygienically tied up and disposed of.”
How many people flush them
Icon Water asked people in Canberra in May 2023:
- “11% of Canberrans we surveyed had flushed a sanitary product.”
- “The most commonly flushed products were tampons (72%), followed by sanitary pads (17%) and incontinence products (6%).”
- “43% of those that flushed sanitary products did so because they didn’t know it could cause problems”.
- A further 41% of them flushed sanitary products “because there was no other disposal option provided” (Icon Water media release, June 2023).
Keep a small bin with a lid in each bathroom, and ask your workplace to do the same.
What the brands say
- U by Kotex tampons: “Please do not flush product or packaging.” (pack text on Chemist Warehouse)
- Moxie: “No, you should never flush tampons down the toilet.” It also says that “pads and sanitary napkins should never be flushed.”
- Tampax (UK site): “Please don’t flush tampons down the toilet!” It says that applicators “are often made of plastic or cardboard and are not designed to dissolve in water”.
Septic tanks
WA Health lists “tampons, applicators and sanitary pads” and “incontinence pads” as items not to flush into a septic tank system. See wipes and septic tanks.
Which wipes can you flush?
The list shows every wipe we can find on sale in Australia that states it meets AS/NZS 5328:2022, with the source for each one. See the list.
Sources
- Barwon Water: don’t flush it (read 18 October 2026)
- Water Corporation: what not to flush (read 18 October 2026)
- Central Highlands Water: looking after the sewerage system (read 18 October 2026)
- Yarra Valley Water: fatberg news item (read 18 October 2026)
- Icon Water: flushable facts (survey May 2023)
- Icon Water: Free the Poo media release (8 June 2023)
- Chemist Warehouse: U by Kotex slim tampons (read 18 October 2026)
- Moxie: how to dispose of used period products (23 September 2025)
- Tampax (UK): can you flush tampons? (updated 28 September 2026)
- WA Health: understanding septic tank systems (read 18 October 2026)