Reusable sanitary products
The Issues
Period products are not sustainable and unfortunately most materials used in manufacturing period products are non-recyclable. On average, women use around 11,000 disposable sanitary products in one lifetime. Non-recyclable period products are estimated to take around 800 years to decompose, that means if Florence Nightingale used disposable period products, they would not even be halfway through decomposing.
An estimated two billion single use period products are said to be flushed down our toilets each year, that’s 4.6 million every single day. This creates a huge issue within the UK called Fatbergs. Fatbergs are huge masses of period products, nappies, wipes, fats and oils. An estimated 300,000 fatbergs are cleared in the UK per year costing £100 million.
One of the biggest issues is plastic. Many disposable menstrual pads contain up to 90% fossil-fuel based plastic, bearing in mind the adhesives and packaging each pad is equivalent to around four plastics bags. Non-organic disposable products also contain toxic chemicals such a dioxin, bleach and fragrances. The manufactures don’t legally have to state what is used in their products.
Disposable period products are of course convenient, but there is no simple way to dispose of them which is why they now form one of the world’s greatest waste problems. Reusable period products offer us a more sustainable solution. They are washable, offer a cost saving, are much better for the environment and are better for our health.
Even just using washable period products occasionally will have a significant effect on the volume of waste you throw away each week – reducing the size of your bin.