Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural and other restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. Let us discuss some topic from that:
- Menstrual Practices In India
- Managing menstrual waste in India
- Problems arise due to improper sanitary waste disposal
- Menstrual waste disposal techniques used by women at various places
- What is the best way to dispose sanitary napkins?
Menstrual Practices in India
Transition period between the childhood and adulthood is called as adolescence. During this period every girl comes across their first menstruation. It is recognized as a special period in a girl’s life which requires special attention and it is an important biological milestone in a woman’s life as it marks the onset of the reproductive phase.
“Sign of woman’s fertility”– faced by each and every adolescent girl and women monthly. As we are in 21st century so mostly everyone is aware about what is periods are, but still in some villages in India there is no such awareness about menstruation. Periods are not just a monthly cycle it is related to every girl’s and women’s mental and physical health. Menstruation management is the major and essential skills which include basic hygiene, sanitation etc. Due to lack of awareness and proper sanitation they may go through unhygienic practices like use of old rags, ashes, husk sand and bamboo fibbers to absorb the flow rather than napkins which may lead to many health issues. Practices related to menstruation hygiene are major concern as it has a health and environmental impact.
Managing Menstrual Waste in India
Periods are the inconvenient days which every woman goes through. But more inconvenient is to destroy the used sanitary napkins. Sanitary waste disposable is become major problem in India. The thin top layer on napkins, known as the Dri – weave top sheet, is made of polypropylene (a plastic polymer) which is non-biodegradable. The campaign started under the Kachra project stated that, “An average woman throws away about 150 kgs of non – biodegradable sanitary pads every year”. SWM (solid waste management) categorized the used sanitary napkins as bio- medical or plastic waste and according to bio-medical waste management rules 2016, items contaminated with blood or body fluids should be incinerated, autoclaved or microwave to destroy pathogens.
To destroy the used sanitary napkins are worldwide problem but this issue is more complicated in India. These things are always seen as a taboo or social stigma. Women and girls in India feel ashamed, uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe while manage their periods and try to hide the fact from others. The main reason is unorganized ways of municipal solid waste management. The improper disposal of sanitary waste is a major barrier in achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission’s goal to create a Clean India.
Problems Arise Due To Improper Sanitary Waste Disposal
Now a day we have end numbers of napkin variants but mostly they are non-biodegradable. Let see how the sustainable ingredients used to make sanitary napkin play a key role in its lifecycle.
The menstrual hygiene alliance of India (MHAI) has approximated that there are 36 million menstruating women in India, of which only 36% use sanitary napkins – that total to 121 million women. On an average one menstruating women use 8 pads per cycle.
No. Of napkins used per month: 121 x 8= 1 billion approximately
No. Of napkins used per year = 12 billion approximately
What happens to those 12 billion pads?
- Thrown away with daily household waste
- Thrown away in open space
- Buried into the land
- Burning in an open space
- Flushed in the bathrooms
All the above mentioned practices create very dangerous consequences to our environment. India is facing serious crisis. Sanitary pad disposal is not a waste management issue that affect the entire country. As there was no standardized method to destroy sanitary waste, every menstrual product disposed contributes to soil, air or water contamination.
Improper sanitization not only creates issues to our environment it also created great impact on girl’s education. Still in some schools there are no proper availability of sanitary napkins, facility to dispose used sanitary napkins, no proper awareness about menstruation and other sanitizations facilities. A 2014 report by NGO Dasra titled “Spot on!” Informed, almost 23 million of girls dropped out from school annually. The report further suggests that the girls, who don’t drop out, usually miss up to 5 days of school every month.
The only solution to tackle India’s sanitary waste issue is raising awareness among adolescent girls about menstrual health and to recommends that all places such as offices, school, colleges, homes, and in other public places ensure that female toilets are provided with suitable method for sanitary napkin disposal.
Menstrual Waste Disposal Techniques Used By Women
At Home:
Mostly used sanitary napkin at home is thrown along with the household waste in dustbin only but it is not the proper way. The used napkin have the bacteria and germs, it may can create some bad odour and have possibilities to spread some kind of infections. After you hand the napkins over to the garbage collector along with other waste later they need to segregate it manually. Waster pickers separate out the napkins from recyclable items by hand, exposing themselves with micro – organisms that can cause various diseases.
At School or College:
In schools and college, due to lack of proper sanitization facilities girls throw their pads in toilets corners or windows. In some cases they throw the used clothes without even washing. Mostly they used to flush the used napkins in toilets itself that leads to blockage issues. Otherwise they use a single napkin for whole day which causes infection, irritation and other health issues. Even now a day girl skips their school during their periods due to lack of proper sanitization facilities.
At Work Place:
The workplace (health, safety & welfare) regulation 1992 recommends that all business should ensure that female toilets are provided with suitable method for sanitary napkin disposal. If it is not provided they may not have that comfort and concentration at work. They may be always worried about their periods which affects in their outputs in that 5 days.
At Public Places:
The behavior of women to dispose sanitary napkins are different when being at home and away from home. In public places without knowing the consequences of flushing the pads, woman flushes them in toilets or throws them in dustbins. Where dustbins are not placed they throw it in the corners of toilets. This makes that place dirty, breeding place for flies and other insects, also unhygienic for other toilet user and cleaner. In many cities, the person who manages the public toilets always complains of blockage of sewage system because of flushing sanitary pads or rags in toilets.
At Villages / Remote Places:
In villages, due to cultural expectations and restrictions many girls were not informed properly about the realities of menstruation. They dug pit to bury the napkins, once the pit is full they were covered with soil and a dug new pit. It is reported that some women and girls use plastic to wrap the used napkins or menstrual cloths before disposing in pit which prevent them from decomposition. People live near river banks throw menstrual waste into water bodies which contaminate them.
What is the Best Way to Dispose Sanitary Napkins?
Disposal of menstrual waste is a major concern as if affects health and environment. There is need for effective menstrual products which needs less and cost- effective management. The unavailability of napkins and non-proper sanitary napkin disposal system are the main reasons for the above mentioned issues.
We the Shri Ramm Inc manufacturer of sanitary napkin incinerators and sanitary napkin vending machines. We are successfully running towards our 10th year in this field and supplying our machines in India as well across the nation. Our machine acts as a solution to all the women who are facing such issues during their menstruation.
Sanitary Napkin Incinerator
Machine which helps to burn the used napkin electrically. Students, working women, housewives mostly all women are faces the same problem during menstruating is, how to destroy the used sanitary pads? So the Sanitary Napkin Burning Machine will be the proper solution to dispose sanitary napkins.
We have various models in sanitary napkin disposal machines starting from domestic to commercial purpose to fulfil customer’s requirements.
Advantages of Sanitary Napkin Incinerator:
- Convenient to use
- Cost effective
- Safe disposal
- Prevent from spreading diseases
- Immediate solution to destroy napkins
- Low power consumption
- Minimize non – biodegradable waste
Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines
Machine which use to store the fresh napkins. During menstruation women face more problems to procure napkins when they require at their current place. If the Sanitary Pad Dispensing machines installed in places like school, colleges, workplace, public places then they can take the sanitary pads by just inserting a coin at whenever they need.
We have manual as well automatic sanitary pad vending machines with different storage capacity.
Advantages of Vending Machines:
- Immediate access to sanitary napkins at anytime
- Hassle- free operations
- Manual vending – no electricity required
- Self-dispensing of pads
- Improves regularity of changing napkins
Places where Destroyer and Dispenser machines can be placed
- Home
- Educational Institutions
- Work Place
- Ladies Hostel
- Hospital
- Shopping Complex
- Airports And Railway Stations
- Theatres
- Hotels
- Bank
- Restrooms In Public Places and more