Paper Towels have safely been flushed down the toilet but only one at a time is advised if you plan to flush any paper towels down the toilet.
I would not recommend flushing paper towels down the toilet though as you could clog your toilet and also clog your sewer main.
Flushing one paper towel down a good drain system is unlikely to cause any issues but if you have bad plumbing and old sewer pipes then the paper towel could cause a clog.
Paper Towels are made of paper as well like toilet paper but paper towels do not break down as fast in the water as toilet paper.
I have flushed a few paper towels down toilets before and never had an issue but I don't make it a habit of doing so.
It takes paper towels around 2 hours to 3 hours to fully decompose in water.
However some stronger brands of paper towels may take 24 hours to 48 hours to decompose and break down in water.
Paper Towels are not meant to be flushed down the toilet and if you do flush paper towels down the toilet it can clog your toilet and your drain lines.
Never flush paper towels down the toilet and instead throw the used paper towel in the trash.
In the trash and landfill it takes around 2 weeks for the paper towel to fully decompose.
Paper Towels are not made to break down in the water in the toilet like toilet paper is.
Toilet Paper is designed to break down and fall apart in the toilet within a few seconds of putting it in the toilet but paper towels do not.