Panic Buying Toilet Paper - Unintended Consequences

I've been quietly watching as panic buying of toilet paper (TP) and water has unfolded.  What I've seen reinforces my preparedness belief, because if you aren't already prepared you may not have TP to use in your potty when it is needed.  However, I started to get more concerned today after a shopping trip to CostCo and something I observed.

While walking past the toilet paper section on my way to the groceries, I noticed the empty racks of TP and several people with stacks of Kleenex and/or dinner napkins in their basket.   Given the number of people and the excessive amount in their basket, it began to occur to me that these people may be thinking other paper products will be acceptable to use in place of toilet paper.  My concern arose as I began thinking of large amounts of these paper products making their way into the sewer systems; and the public health nightmare this could create.

Kleenex, dinner napkins and other paper products are thicker than toilet paper and made to be strong; especially when touched to a wet nose or mouth.  Toilet paper, on the other hand, is designed to partially disintegrate once it gets wet.  This rapid break-down process is what keeps our sewers flowing.  If our sewer system begins to clog with paper that doesn't break down easily, whole neighborhoods may have clogged and backed up sewer lines.  Then, where will their human waste go?  

Here is the public health issue... overflowing toilets and sewerage lines and storage facilities that are slowed and/or unusable for a significant amount of time while clearing occurs.  Then there will be the need to treat the any mess needing to be pulled from the system, before it can somehow be disintegrated or disposed of elsewhere.

So, please only flush TP and human waste.  And, please don't dispose of human waste on other paper products in garbage cans.  Spread the word of this risk and go online to order TP or check in with family or friends to see if they can share some with you until production and supply cycles can catch up to the increased demand.  Should you have a little extra (for any disaster), YES.  Should  you be stockpiling it right now, NO!