The role of local governments, civil society in menstrual waste management

The improper disposal of menstrual waste — blood, sanitary pads, tampons and other materials — can lead to environmental pollution and health hazards. 

Around 12.3 billion pads end up in landfills in India annually, some studies suggested. That is around 113,000 tonnes of waste.

Sanitary pads made of plastic and other single-use menstrual products are dangerous to humans and nature. They are usually flushed or thrown away, often leading to drainage problems.

Pads thrown away are likely eaten by animals that come into the paddock or are carried away to another area. If it gets in the drinking water sources, it becomes contaminated. Often we are not even aware of it.

Many people burn the pads they use for a whole month, which is also not good for health. Many toxic gases like dioxin are released into the atmosphere, which can lead to skin diseases, lung-related diseases, cancer and other fatal diseases.

Regardless of the situation mentioned above, in most of the places, no systems are available to properly dispose of these after use. 

What is the solution to this? Today, we have two main ways of solving the problems caused by single-use menstrual products.

1. Scientific disposal of used pads: The Solid Waste Management Act prescribes that disposable pads should be wrapped in paper with a red dot on it and placed in waste collection bins. It should be disposed of later by those who come to collect the waste.

Pilot studies conducted by the Kerala government showed that there are difficulties in implementing this method. The reasons include: Non-payment of user fee required to dispose of the pads, difficulty in delivering the pads correctly, difficulty in transporting the collected pads from the collection center to the processing centre and investment.

In this situation, there is a need for more processing centres and public awareness to store and distribute the pads. Also, the user fee is Rs 55-80 per kilo as a user fee, which is about the same price as buying a packet of pads.

2. Use of reusable menstrual products

One of the problems with single-use menstrual products is the difficulty of disposing of them after use. Apart from this, if they are used for more than a certain period, they can also cause health problems. 

On top of this, disposable menstrual products cost a lot of money due to which so many people hesitate to buy them. Instead, they use dirty clothes, ash and other waste materials to absorb menstrual blood. It again leads to serious health problems.

Many reusable products are available today, such as cloth pads, menstrual cups, period panties, among others. All of these are washable, reusable and can be used for at least 6-8 hours. 

Even though one has to spend some money to buy these for the first time, they can be used for many years. So, they are economical for long-term use. However, only 0.3 per cent of people in India use menstrual cups, according to the National Family Health Survey 2019-21.

There are many menstruators who could have switched to reusable products but are not aware of the same. There are also many myths surrounding the menstrual cup. 

Effective awareness programmes are essential to address these issues. Some, especially school-aged children, may want to switch to reusable menstrual products but wait for parental consent. Therefore, the guardians also need to be given awareness about the same.

Local interventions 

The local self-governing bodies have a significant role in ensuring sustainable menstruation and changing the myths around menstruation in society. Public awareness campaigns are needed to change the myths that exist throughout the community.

In Kerala, few local bodies have developed initiatives to promote sustainable menstruation.

In November 2020,  the village of Muhamma, Alappuzha was declared ‘India's first synthetic sanitary pad-free village’. The aim was to introduce alternative products, such as cloth pads and menstrual cups, to reduce the use of synthetic sanitary pads made of plastic.

It was part of the ‘Muhammodayam'  project implemented by the Bengaluru-based environmental protection organisation Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Muhamma Gram Panchayat, with financial support from Antrix Corporation. 

The distribution of alternative products started after knowledge on reusable, plastic-free sanitary products was imparted to the menstruating women in the panchayat.

Cloth pads and over 500 menstrual cups were distributed to over 5,000 women. Through this activity, it was also possible to significantly reduce the amount of waste associated with menstruation.

Around 100,000 menstrual cups were distributed by the Ernakulam district administration in Kochi in September 2022. 

In Vazhoor panchayat of Kottayam district, the Menstrual Hygiene Eco-Friendly Project was formed as a part of the 'Status of Women' study conducted with the help of Sakhi Women's Centre in Thiruvananthapuram during 2018-19. 

In the first phase, each person was asked about the menstrual product used and the difficulties through the survey. After that, menstrual cups were distributed to 400 people aged 18-50 years.

In this way, many local government bodies came forward today to ensure sustainable menstruation. Besides introducing alternative products, special care should be taken to make them available at lower prices. Panchayat funds can also be utilised for this purpose.

By imparting special training to Kudumbashree members to make cloth pads, the availability of alternative products within the Panchayat can be stabilised and a livelihood can be ensured for them.

Each person has to take responsibility for properly disposing of the waste they produce. The mechanisms established by the local self-government bodies can be used for this purpose. 

The same is applicable for menstrual waste as well. It is hoped that this problem can be solved through awareness programmes and infrastructure development.

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth

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