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<h4 class="dechead">On One Hand: Traditional Tampons Can Be Harmful
While an occasional, accidental flushing of a tampon is not going to harm your septic tank, when traditional, non-biodegradable tampons like Tampax and Playtex are regularly flushed and sent into a septic tank they can interfere with the tank's ability to effectively treat the waste water due to the solids clogging up the absorption field of the system.
On the Other: There are Biodegradable Tampons Available
There are tampons on the market, such as Natracare, that are biodegradable and compostable and may not interfere with how a septic system functions. There are no studies documenting whether these tampons break down quickly enough once in a septic tank as to no not interfere with the waste water treatment.
Bottom Line
If a few tampons accidentally make their way down into your septic system from your toilet, there is no need to go into crisis mode, but the regular flushing of traditional and biodegradable tampons has the potential to cause problems resulting in costly repairs.
Source:
National Small Flows Clearing House: So...Now You Own a Septic Tank
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