Safe Menstrual Hygiene Management and Clean City

Even today, there is no system in our country to properly dispose of sanitary napkins. It still relies only on the incinerator system. But the environmental and health issues it causes are not small. Studies have shown that the volatile organic compound, which is used for menstrual blood clotting, can cause heart attack, diabetes, cancer, miscarriage, and pregnancy failure. Although the incinerator is active in the country, it is still not available in most schools, offices and public places. Therefore, most women burn used napkins in their homes or throw as general waste. Due to this, there will be toxic fumes from them, which can cause harm to the environment. The situation is the same even when the incinerator is used. But in some places, they also tend to dump them in canals and streams. This severely affects water pollution as well as their natural flow of water disrupted. The situation in cities is different. It is customary to see sanitary napkins being dumped along with other waste. Often, those who come to collect garbage handle such waste bare-hand. Therefore, this causes a lot of health issues for them

Environmental and health issues caused by sanitary napkins are one of the issues that not many people pay attention to. It is in this context that the Society for Action in Community Health (SACH) has decided to take up the mission of sanitary napkin-free Kottayam in Kottayam district. As a first step, 270 students of Vaikom Girls High School and Higher Secondary School were given menstrual cups free of cost. Today, SACH's aim is to extend this mission to all the schools in Kottayam district with the help of Government and its various schemes.

The habit that starts with children will be passed on from generation to generation and will help protect our environment and water bodies in the days to come. The scheme will be implemented in 258 high schools and 120 higher secondary schools in Kottayam district. There are about 200 students studying in each high school. Similarly, there are about 200 students studying in higher secondary schools. It is planned to distribute two menstrual cups to every student.

Menstruation is a natural biological process experienced by all adolescent girls and women every month, starting between 11- and 14-year sage and continue till menopause at about age 51. On any day, more than 800 million women and girls between the age of 15 and 49 are menstruating, yet it is the most neglected health issue, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Ability to manage menstrual hygiene is fundamental to well-being of women, and it constitutes the essential component of basic hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services.

  The number of menstrual days in a woman's lifetime is 3,000. A woman uses about 12 pads a month during menstruation. There are about 355 million women in the country. Seventy-four per cent of them still use cloth pads. Only 12 per cent of women use sanitary pads. That's about 35 million. About 432 million sanitary pads reach various garbage dumps across the country every month as such waste. That's about 113,000 tons a year. Today, there is no facility in our country to properly process them. Therefore, the environmental and health hazards caused by them are huge. A sanitary pad contains 90 per cent plastic. It is estimated that it contains enough plastic to make four bags. Therefore, if they reach the earth, it will take about 250 to 800 years to decay and disappear. Today, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated through sanitary napkins. This accounts for three per cent of the total plastic waste. Even when we are taking steps to give up plastic products, such a huge calamity is still going unnoticed by anyone. Today, 12 per cent of women in the country use sanitary napkins. If their numbers increase, the country will be heading for a major environmental disaster

Menstruation is a natural biological process experienced by all adolescent girls and women every month, starting between 11- and 14-year sage and continue till menopause at about age 51. On any day, more than 800 million women and girls between the age of 15 and 49 are menstruating, yet it is the most neglected health issue, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Ability to manage menstrual hygiene is fundamental to well-being of women, and it constitutes the essential component of basic hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services.

  The number of menstrual days in a woman's lifetime is 3,000. A woman uses about 12 pads a month during menstruation. There are about 355 million women in the country. Seventy-four per cent of them still use cloth pads. Only 12 per cent of women use sanitary pads. That's about 35 million. About 432 million sanitary pads reach various garbage dumps across the country every month as such waste. That's about 113,000 tons a year. Today, there is no facility in our country to properly process them. Therefore, the environmental and health hazards caused by them are huge. A sanitary pad contains 90 per cent plastic. It is estimated that it contains enough plastic to make four bags. Therefore, if they reach the earth, it will take about 250 to 800 years to decay and disappear. Today, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated through sanitary napkins. This accounts for three per cent of the total plastic waste. Even when we are taking steps to give up plastic products, such a huge calamity is still going unnoticed by anyone. Today, 12 per cent of women in the country use sanitary napkins. If their numbers increase, the country will be heading for a major environmental disaster

500 young girls

Menstruation is a natural biological process experienced by all adolescent girls and women every month, starting between 11- and 14-year sage and continue till menopause at about age 51. On any day, more than 800 million women and girls between the age of 15 and 49 are menstruating, yet it is the most neglected health issue, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Ability to manage menstrual hygiene is fundamental to well-being of women, and it constitutes the essential component of basic hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services.

  The number of menstrual days in a woman's lifetime is 3,000. A woman uses about 12 pads a month during menstruation. There are about 355 million women in the country. Seventy-four per cent of them still use cloth pads. Only 12 per cent of women use sanitary pads. That's about 35 million. About 432 million sanitary pads reach various garbage dumps across the country every month as such waste. That's about 113,000 tons a year. Today, there is no facility in our country to properly process them. Therefore, the environmental and health hazards caused by them are huge. A sanitary pad contains 90 per cent plastic. It is estimated that it contains enough plastic to make four bags. Therefore, if they reach the earth, it will take about 250 to 800 years to decay and disappear. Today, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated through sanitary napkins. This accounts for three per cent of the total plastic waste. Even when we are taking steps to give up plastic products, such a huge calamity is still going unnoticed by anyone. Today, 12 per cent of women in the country use sanitary napkins. If their numbers increase, the country will be heading for a major environmental disaster

There is no health issue related to using sanitary napkins.

Even today, there is no system in our country to properly dispose of sanitary napkins. It still relies only on the incinerator system. But the environmental and health issues it causes are not small. Studies have shown that the volatile organic compound, which is used for menstrual blood clotting, can cause heart attack, diabetes, cancer, miscarriage, and pregnancy failure. Although the incinerator is active in the country, it is still not available in most schools, offices and public places. Therefore, most women burn used napkins in their homes or throw as general waste. Due to this, there will be toxic fumes from them, which can cause harm to the environment. The situation is the same even when the incinerator is used. But in some places, they also tend to dump them in canals and streams. This severely affects water pollution as well as their natural flow of water disrupted. The situation in cities is different. It is customary to see sanitary napkins being dumped along with other waste. Often, those who come to collect garbage handle such waste bare-hand. Therefore, this causes a lot of health issues for them.

Even today, there is no system in our country to properly dispose of sanitary napkins. It still relies only on the incinerator system. But the environmental and health issues it causes are not small. Studies have shown that the volatile organic compound, which is used for menstrual blood clotting, can cause heart attack, diabetes, cancer, miscarriage, and pregnancy failure. Although the incinerator is active in the country, it is still not available in most schools, offices and public places. Therefore, most women burn used napkins in their homes or throw as general waste. Due to this, there will be toxic fumes from them, which can cause harm to the environment. The situation is the same even when the incinerator is used. But in some places, they also tend to dump them in canals and streams. This severely affects water pollution as well as their natural flow of water disrupted. The situation in cities is different. It is customary to see sanitary napkins being dumped along with other waste. Often, those who come to collect garbage handle such waste bare-hand. Therefore, this causes a lot of health issues for them.

10 years

Even today, there is no system in our country to properly dispose of sanitary napkins. It still relies only on the incinerator system. But the environmental and health issues it causes are not small. Studies have shown that the volatile organic compound, which is used for menstrual blood clotting, can cause heart attack, diabetes, cancer, miscarriage, and pregnancy failure. Although the incinerator is active in the country, it is still not available in most schools, offices and public places. Therefore, most women burn used napkins in their homes or throw as general waste. Due to this, there will be toxic fumes from them, which can cause harm to the environment. The situation is the same even when the incinerator is used. But in some places, they also tend to dump them in canals and streams. This severely affects water pollution as well as their natural flow of water disrupted. The situation in cities is different. It is customary to see sanitary napkins being dumped along with other waste. Often, those who come to collect garbage handle such waste bare-hand. Therefore, this causes a lot of health issues for them.