Importance of Sanitary pad disposal

The process of menstruation or talking about it is still considered a taboo, and women refrain from talking about it openly. Therefore awareness has to be created among both the genders. After the usage of sanitary pad, the next step is to educate women about the Importance of Sanitary pad disposal.

Improper disposal of the sanitary pad can lead to various problems which include large heaps of pads all over, bacteria causing infection, unhygienic environment etc. The used sanitary pad that have not been disposed of properly sometimes block the drainage system. Incineration is a better technique to dispose of menstrual waste but burning of used pads releases harmful gases that effects health and environment. To incinerate sanitary napkins, electrical or physical fire – based incinerators can be used. Toilet facilities in India are very poor as they lack bins for the disposal of sanitary pads. At home, women generally throw pads openly which leaves the place exposed to mosquitoes for their breeding. This spreads bacteria and infection. They usually throw the pads along with the home waste because they fear from being known that they use a sanitary pad. At school, due to lack of sanitary facilities, girls throw their pads in the toilets. Since there are no dustbins, they leave the soiled pads wrapped or unwrapped in the toilet corners. This makes the toilet dirty and filthy. Whether at home or at public places, women have the habit of disposing of their used pads by flushing them and this leads to the blockage of the sewage system. Easy and best way to dispose of used pads – Incineration.

We need to educate and guide women, girls regarding the disposal of sanitary pads in a proper way. This will help them to be clean, hygienic and safe from unwanted diseases. To protect our environment, proper care and initiative must be taken by every single woman to carefully dispose of their used sanitary pads. In the long run, hygiene and sustainability are possible only through education. In both rural and urban areas, this is possible only through women to women as they can demonstrate and teach the pros and cons in Sanitary pad disposal.