Sometimes it’s better to not know the language, than to know just a little bit. I saw this sign again today in the ladies’ room and remembered how I interpreted the text last year.
Papel is paper. So when I saw this sign in a bathroom, I thought I was ordered to throw the toilet paper in the bin and not in the toilet. I was so glad at that time that I didn’t ‘make a big message’ – as we say in Holland – because I was imagining the enormous mess that would make.
By now I am aware that los papeles are the sanitary towels. Making much more sense that one shouldnt throw that in the toilet.
^hm
ETA: it seems the signs mean paper after all. The sewer pipes over here are sometimes very narrow, hence the request to not throw anything in the toilet that can cause obstructions.