Sanitary napkin disposal is a worldwide problem. The impact is more pronounced in India because of the unorganized ways of municipal solid waste management and poor community collection, disposal and transportation networks in the cities and villages.
With an estimated potential of 9000 tonnes of sanitary waste (of 432 million pads) getting generated annually and more than 80% of this waste either getting flushed down the toilet or getting dumped in the landfill, India is facing a serious problem.
Incineration
At this point, while incinerator emissions are being disputed, it is important to recognize the divide in the issue of hygiene. Women in remote rural areas in the country are still bogged by societal taboos and lack financial and emotional freedom to use and dispose off sanitary napkins. In an attempt to provide such women with affordable and ecofriendly sanitary napkins, a few manufacturers have emerged in the last few years.
Pad-making Machine
Arunachalam Muruganantham, Founder and CEO, Jayashree Industries, set out with the mission of devising a machine to manufacture eco-friendly pads, when his wife refrained from using hygienic disposable pads, because it would require cutting down household expenses. Today, Jayashree Industries gives away eco-friendly pad-making machines to women in the poor and underdeveloped villages. Muruganantham plans to keep the business motive away and create a fresh market for sanitary pads. The women who manufacture the pads sell them too. Speaking of the disposal of these pads, Muruganantham says, “The pads can be buried after use.”
With an estimated potential of 9000 tonnes of sanitary waste (of 432 million pads) getting generated annually and more than 80% of this waste either getting flushed down the toilet or getting dumped in the landfill, India is facing a serious problem.
Anandi pads are sold through various channels in the villages. The Government and some corporates too buy these pads. “As part of our pilot programme, we are selling Anandi pads to urban consumers too. We are not retailing it through shops.”
Cloth pads
Kathy Walkling, Founder, Eco femme, a women-led social enterprise, manufactures washable cloth pads as an alternative to disposable pads.
“Essentially a single cloth washable pad (that lasts 75 washes) equivalent to 75 single use and throw disposable sanitary napkins. Cloth pads prevent significant amounts of waste. Made from natural materials, they are healthier when cared for properly and they save money as well,” Kathy explains.
Creating Awareness
“Many women are engaged in demonstration and the teaching and learning happens through a woman-to-woman chain,” Muruganantham elaborates.
Essentially a single cloth washable pad (that lasts 75 washes) represents the equivalent of 75 single use and throw disposable sanitary napkins being burned or tossed.
“It should be a municipal activity where administrative outfits, corporate bodies and independent institutions join hands to
Eco Femme believes in an inclusive approach. “Our goal is not to ‘break’ any taboos. We strive to engage with the cultural practices, acknowledging that they have been in place for centuries and that they are often part of the glue that binds a community together, and they often hold a lot of meaning for those who follow them. In these conversations, we hope to deconstruct ingrained cultural conditioning and empower women as change agents, by providing information and ways for them to reconnect to their embodied knowledge and voice. We work closely with our implementation partners and organisations who order non-commercial pads to make sure we are able to best meet the needs of their specific community and nurture a network of global ambassadors who help spread the message about the hazards of disposable menstrual products and the merits of trying alternatives like cloth pads and menstrual cups.”