Try GOLD - Free
How do aeroplane toilets work?
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
|Issue 63
What happens when nature calls at 10,000 metres high?
-

Aeroplane loos don’t work like your toilet at home, which uses water and gravity to move waste into the sewer system. Instead they use a strong vacuum, along with a blue chemical that cleans and removes smells every time you flush.
A stinky tank
This sucking system is very much like the vacuum cleaners people use at home to remove dirt and dust from their floors. This dirt and dust ends up in a container that you empty into a rubbish bin. Similarly, the waste and the blue cleaning fluid from the aeroplane’s lavatories ends up in an underfloor storage tank, at the very back of the plane’s cargo hold. With so many people on a plane needing to use the toilet, you can imagine how big this tank has to be.
This story is from the Issue 63 edition of The Week Junior Science+Nature UK.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Week Junior Science+Nature UK

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Wildlife watch
Jenny Ackland uncovers some amazing natural wonders you can spot as summer comes to a close.
2 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Finding the Titanic
Relive the search for the “unsinkable ship\" that sank and was lost in the ocean depths.
2 mins
September 2025
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
CODING CLUB
A place to code and create
2 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Hydrogen-powered planes
Meet the team designing a new way of taking to the skies.
1 min
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Are driverless cars a good idea?
Are self-driving cars a step in the right direction, or something that can't be trusted?
1 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
BOOK CLUB
There is just over one week left to take part in our Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest.
2 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
THE LAB
Three things to make and do
3 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
SCIENCE WORLD
Check out some LEGO art, see the world through wasps’ eyes and get active this month.
3 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
HEADSCRATCHERS
Our expert, Darren Naish, has the answers to all of your dinosaur questions.
2 mins
September 2025

The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
How many types of insect are there?
Scientists estimate that insects make up 90% of all animal species.
3 mins
September 2025
Translate
Change font size