Yesterday I read an article in the newspaper, which was really thought-provoking as I was not very aware of the topic because it was related to women. I am very sure that most men folk are ignorant about this subject, and the subject is “SANITARY PAD WASTE”. Since the sanitary pads manufactured by the organized sector contain plastic and, therefore, can not degrade naturally. Do we worry about what happens to them once they are thrown into dustbins? Most probably, they are likely to end up in a landfill where waste pickers have to sort through it with their hands.
No one can deny that sanitary pads/napkins have been a boon for many Indian women, freeing them from the monthly ritual of washing and drying their menstrual cloth. Rough estimates indicate there are 130 million women using sanitary pads, which generates about 120,000 tons of waste every year. The fact is that each pad (used for maybe 6 hours) thrown away will stay on the planet Earth for about 800 years.
The fact is that Sanitary pads/tampons contain super absorbent polymers (SAP) and plastics, which take centuries to decompose. Recently many other products which are environment friendly are been introduced in the market they are- Menstrual Cups which are made of medical grade silicon and can be used for 5 to 10 years; Reusable Sanitary pads which are made of cloth and can be reused for 1 -2 years; and Biodegradable Sanitary Pads which are made of ingredients like organic cotton, banana fibre with corn starch, etc., that is for one-time use.
Having the right knowledge on sanitary pad disposal is important from a hygienic as well as an environmental point of view.
How to dispose of sanitary pads
1 Generally in all big cities the authorities ask households to separate dry and wet garbage, but neither party is responsible is responsible for soiled sanitary pads, as they are considered biohazardous garbage. As a result, the first step is to keep a separate bin for sanitary pads. The inside of the bin should have a disposable lining. This will keep the soiled pads from being trashed into the collectible rubbish and getting mixed with the rest of the dry/wet garbage. This sanitary pad waste should be treated in the same way as medical waste.
2 Fold and wrap the menstrual pad carefully in the toilet or newspaper before discarding it. It can be also wrapped in the cover of the next pad, this will not only keep the stench, bacteria, and flies away.
3 Do not flush sanitary pads, as they can clog the pipeline.
4 The same practice should be adopted by corporate offices, factories, and other working places where females are employed. Even schools should also use these methods, and teenage girls should be trained accordingly.
The Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules consider menstrual waste as solid waste and define it as sanitary waste. The rules also outline the responsibility of waste generators, local authorities and gram panchayats, and producers of sanitary products.
Problems associated with sanitary pad waste management
- Sanitary pads can neither be reused nor recycled.
- They cover hundreds of hectares of landfill sites.
- Owing to their non-biodegradable nature, they take a long time to decompose completely, reducing usable land.
- Further, they clog sewage pipelines and often need frequent manual
- Because of the medical nature of waste caused by sanitary pads, sanitation workers and waste pickers are unknowingly exposed to viruses and harmful micro-organisms.
- The only solution to this problem is to segregate the waste of sanitary pads, and this involves large-scale participation of all the concerns, namely the waste producer (menstruating females), waste collection system to be adopted by local bodies, and finally burning the waste. For burning this waste the local bodies have to install bio-medical waste incinerators in a number of places.
- Lastly, Producers of menstrual products should be pushed to find ways to create biodegradable products.
The reason the waste ends up in landfills is that there are not enough incinerators in even big cities and towns, even if they are available, they may be installed in a few schools, malls, airports, and other such places. In the SWM rules of 2016, a solution was proposed that sanitary waste should be collected and transported to biomedical waste incinerators, but there are only a few hundred of those in the country.
The small-scale incinerators have their own problems. On-site incinerators break down easily and are not maintained well. In some of them, there is no information on where to put the pad, or how to discard the pad properly. These small machines also do not burn at high enough temperatures to fully burn the plastic in the pads. The area where it is installed should also have a proper ventilation system so that the fumes being released from incinerators do not harm people.
A Pune-based start-up company has come out with a technological innovation in this field, it has created a patented technology to recycle used sanitary pads into plastic and wood pulp. The company has tied up with 550 corporations to collect and recycle their sanitary waste. The pulp from waste is used to make paper products and can have applications in textile and chemical industries. The plastic generated from these recycling actions can be used for SWM bins and even paver blocks. The company is trying to expand its operations to housing societies and community-based projects.
In the end, if companies are selling the products like sanitary pads they should take the responsibility of disposing of the waste of that product. The government should take a stand on this “If you are selling them, getting rid of them is also your responsibility”. In the recent past, soft drink producers and Bottled water producers were forced by authorities to make arrangements to collect used bottles from the market for recycling. In this case, also waste pickers should be paid extra to transport pads to disposal facilities run by producers or government-run incinerators.
Friends, what do you say in this matter? Please write your views in the comments column.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
2nd October 2023