Menstrual Waste Disposal.

According to the World Health Organization, a person aged 10–19 years is considered as an adolescent. This transition period between the childhood and adulthood is marked with the growth and development of the child. The average age at menarche across populations is between 12 and 13 years of age

Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge on menstruation hygiene management, traditions & norms, shyness, embarrassment, girls don’t have it easy.  Menstruation it is still considered unclean and dirty.

 Menstrual wastes are wastes that are generated by a female in her reproductive years. These wastes are produced during the monthly bleeding cycle. Wastes include used sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups, reusable pads and panty liners and period underwear.

From a public health perspective, improper disposal of menstrual waste can lead to the spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, most menstrual hygiene products are not biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to decompose. This leads to landfill accumulation and can contribute to soil and water pollution. The impact of menstrual waste on the environmental is significant.

Women have developed their own personal strategies to handle this period of time. These strategies vary greatly due to the personal preferences, availability of resources, economic status, cultural traditions and beliefs, education status, and knowledge about menstruation.

In first world nations like the United States, the most common method of disposal is through regular trash, which ultimately ends up in landfills. Some cities have waste-to-energy facilities where trash, including menstrual waste, is incinerated to generate energy. In Canada, disposal practices are similar. Menstrual products are typically disposed of along with regular trash. However, there has been a growing movement towards more sustainable practices, such as composting and the use of biodegradable products.

Different countries have different regulations and guidelines for menstrual waste disposal. In some places, menstrual waste is classified as biomedical waste, requiring specific disposal methods. However, in many parts of the world, there are no specific laws or guidelines addressing menstrual waste, leading to improper disposal practices.

The improper disposal of menstrual waste can have a direct impact on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. It can lead to the spread of infectious diseases and contribute to environmental pollution, which can have long-term health effects.

In low income countries, women hide menstrual materials for fear of being cursed / bewitched. They dispose by burying, burning, and throwing in garbage or in pit latrines. In rural areas, the most preferred absorbents are reusable cloth pads and in urban areas, women prefer to use commercial sanitary pads. Reusable cloth pads generate lesser amount of menstrual waste as compared to disposable options. 

Chlorine-bleached Kraft or sulphate pulp is a raw material in production of fluff pulp an absorbent used to make disposable sanitary products. Due to their chemical composition, when buried in the soil, these products kill the soils microflora and delay the process of decomposition. This makes them not to be environmentally friendly.

In slum areas, women dispose their menstrual waste into pit latrines as burning and burial are difficult due to limited privacy space. In schools, due to lack of sanitary facilities, girls may throw their pads in ceramic toilets causing blockage of sewage system because of the flushing of sanitary pads or rags in the toilet. This can lead to sewerage back flow and other plumbing issues, contributing to problems in wastewater treatment facilities. They can also end up in water bodies and contribute to water pollution.

People living alongside river banks throw menstrual waste into water bodies contaminating them. These materials soaked with blood are breeding places for germs and pathogenic microbes. This exposes sanitation workers to harmful chemicals and  pathogens.

In pit latrines/landfills, sanitary napkins might decompose over a period of about one year except for their plastic lining in on-site sanitation. Some women and girls wrap their used menstrual cloths and packs in polythene bags before disposing in pit latrines which prevents them from decomposition. The adhesive wings and the perforated plastic layers in the commercial sanitary napkins are not easily biodegradable.

Deodorised sanitary products used by women/girls contain chemicals used in bleaching such as organochlorines which when buried in the soil disturb the soil micro flora and decomposition takes time

Better ways of disposing menstrual waste include;

1. Landfill Disposal: This is the most common method of disposal, where menstrual waste is thrown away with regular trash and ends up in landfills. While this method is straightforward, it contributes to landfill accumulation and can lead to environmental issues such as soil and water pollution.
2. Latrines with Chutes. These are special kind of toilets in which a shoulder level Chute was made into a usually deep pit. A chemical agent is added to the pit several times in a month to enhance the decomposition process of used napkins.
3. Composting is a more environmentally friendly option that involves decomposing organic waste, including some types of menstrual products, into nutrient-rich soil. However, not all menstrual products are suitable for composting, and the process requires specific conditions to ensure safe decomposition.
4. Proper waste segregation. Menstrual waste should not be disposed of along with domestic waste. Pads should be properly wrapped in newspaper and then thrown in the dustbins. This makes it safe for sanitation staff as it does not expose them to any disease-causing pathogens.
5. Advocacy; Girls and women should be aware of the consequences of using disposable pads on the environment and the effects of disposing used menstrual products in open or flushing them in toilets. Advocacy on disposing in dustbins with proper lids in the toilets should be emphasized.

• The use of Incinerators.

Incineration is one of the best options for managing disposal of menstrual waste. It helps in achieving pathogen treatment, waste reduction and on-site waste management.

Incineration involves burning menstrual waste at high temperatures. Incinerators are operated at temperatures above 850∘C so that they emit less harmful gasses. This ensures efficient and complete combustion. When used according to ecofriendly guidelines, they create less pollution. This effectively reduces the volume of waste and eliminate pathogens.

Incineration is an attractive solution for waste management particularly for public toilet settings in communities where solid waste collection systems are weak and in institutional settings

They are the clearly preferred disposal option in schools and any resistance is down to socio-cultural beliefs regarding the disposal and burning of menstrual blood. In some communities, the burning of menstrual blood is taboo, drawing on the belief that such actions will compromise a woman’s reproductive capacity.

Incinerators are a better option for disposal but should be operated in a controlled environment so that harmful gasses emitted will not harm larger areas. Incinerator construction technologies exist from basic ceramic pots to complex systems. The outputs can be clay or cemented molded.

Nevertheless, if not done properly, incineration can release harmful emissions like dioxins which are toxic and carcinogenic in nature and contribute to air pollution. Further, if users and operators are not trained or provided with adequate information / tools to safely operate the technology, it may turn tragic.

With more interest and involvement from men, menstrual waste disposal gets easier and better. Men, as providers pay for sanitary towels and are at the heart of sponsoring and manual construction of toilets and incinerators.