Disposal of Sanitary Napkin

It happens to us 14,66,17,293 girls and women Why is a normal vital process of human existence –Menstruation - considered contaminated, dirty & impure

What Is MHM Women and adolescent girls using a clean menstrual management material o absorb or collect blood that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of the menstruation period, using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. Source-UNICEF and WHO, 2014

Formative Research in U.P with menstruating adolescents – UNICEF, 2012 Had No dialogue on Menstruation Old (unhygienic) cloth to manage Rural India women still use unsanitaized cloth Fathers were in favour of preparing girls for their first menstruation 64% household do not have toilets in U.P

Do You Know... “Average women will throw nearly 16,800 pads in her life cycle” “Nothing inherently wrong in reusing”

Disposable Sanitary Napkin Top layer – is made of polypropylene-a plastic fleece Padding- wood pulp mixed with SAP(plastic based gel) Leak proof Contrary to popular belief, most disposal sanitary napkins are made almost entirely of plastic

Possible Disposal Mechanism BurningDiggingFlushing

Health & Environmental Effects Most disposal pads end up as unsegregated household waste or are burned along with domestic waste-releasing toxins from the plastics. Source of the harmful chemicals that can be used in sanitary napkins - Use of chlorine bleach to whiten the product that bleaching process does not sterilise anything. It only ensure that the products are white. The process results in the production of dioxin-a type of “organochlorine” as it DDT, PCBs and Agent organs, that is linked to cancer, especially breast cancer, immune system suppression, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory diseases, and sperm count - Artificial Fragrances – added to napkins can cause local allergies and skin reaction - Insecticides and herbicides – sprayed on cotton crop especially ‘Furan’ stay on cotton for long after it is harvested. Pad takes 500 years to degrade. Every year we add equivalent of 180 billion plastic bags to our waste by using plastic laden feminine hygiene products.

Local solutions in offer Women practicing disposal of menstrual waste in their home Identification mark on walls to search out families using home based mechanism (Matka) for disposal of menstrual waste

Local solutions in offer Incinerator construction in Schools Girls gaining hands-on knowledge on disposal of menstrual waste via incinerator

Menstrual Hygiene Scheme 20 States 152 Districts 1.5 crore Adolescent Girls 90 million pads per month DISPOSAL is still a challenge ??

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