Menstrual waste disposal is a major problem in India that remains largely unaddressed. Disposable sanitary pads, used by over 121 million menstruating women in India, contain about 90% plastic and each pad takes 500-800 years to decompose. Most women dispose of used pads with regular trash due to lack of awareness and stigma. In rural areas, women often burn or bury pads, harming the environment. While guidelines encourage proper disposal, implementation is lacking. Stigma surrounding menstruation contributes to the problem remaining unsolved. Solutions proposed include new laws classifying pads as biomedical waste, education on alternatives to pads, waste segregation programs, and awareness campaigns.

1. Menstrual Waste Disposal: India’s ‘Silent’
Problem
6 min read
By Vaishnavi Singh - May 22, 2020
Editor’s Note: This month, that is May 2020, FII’s #MoodOfTheMonth is Menstrual Health,
where we invite various articles about various experiences that revolve around
menstruation or the absence of the same. If you’d like to share your article, email us at
pragya@feminisminindia.com.
Arunachalam Murugantham, better known as ‘Pad-Man’ after bollywood actor Akshay
Kumar’s blockbuster film, brought about a revolutionary invention that made the use of
sanitary napkins in rural India possible. With low-cost options of sanitary napkins being
developed to promote hygiene and women’s safety in rural areas, it seems there is one part
of the problem that has still not been addressed. The part that comes after the use of these
sanitary napkins: menstrual waste disposal.
India recently went through a cleanliness wave campaign with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
going right down to community levels. While the tangible impact of the campaign can be
debated, the Swachh Bharat movement not only managed to create awareness about the
need for sanitation at length but also launched a massive call-to-action which for the first
time directly spoke to the citizens of the country and held them responsible. However, there
was one issue that remained shrouded in silence due to the social stigma and taboos
surrounding it, the issue of menstrual waste disposal.
This particular waste disposal issue still largely remains a ‘silent problem’ in India. According
to Menstrual Health Alliance of India (MHAI), the number of menstruating women in India
who use disposable sanitary napkins stands at a staggering 121 million. Disposable sanitary
napkins are made of 90% plastic and keeping in mind the adhesives, packing, etc., each pad is
equivalent to around 4 plastic bags. If we estimate the number of pads used per cycle to a
modest 8, it equates to roughly 12 billion pads disposed per year. According to a report, each
Menstrual Waste Disposal: India's 'Silent' Problem

2. of these pads can take roughly 500 to 800 years to decompose due to their largely plastic
ingredients.
Current Methods of Disposal
In urban areas, majority of the women turn to commercial sanitary napkins which are less
environment friendly than most other options. Due to the lack of awareness around sanitary
or menstrual waste disposal and the absence of laws to force segregation, most women
dispose of used sanitary napkins along with the rest of the domestic waste. While waste is
usually segregated into dry and wet waste according to waste management guidelines,
separation of menstrual waste is seldom considered. In urban areas, where even sanitary
napkins are wrapped in more secrecy than the ‘routine’ leers of men, we often prefer to
simply throw away the waste instead of discussing or caring about its disposal due to the
stigma around the conversation. This ‘out of sight, out of mind’ solution that most of us in
cities adopt needs an urgent re-evaluation.
In most rural areas, where women are still subjected to the prejudice of being considered
impure while menstruating, this issue is further exacerbated. Lack of access to proper
disposal systems and awareness forces them to burn or bury their pads in community pits
where degradation does not occur. This has long term implications on the health of the
land. For women who live close to water bodies, the easy solution is to throw the pads into
the water, causing massive health and environment hazards. Due to limited awareness,
schools and colleges which do not have proper disposal systems force students to throw
their used pads into toilets thereby causing choking.
Laws Relating to Sanitary waste
India produces 9000 tonnes of Sanitary waste every year. This is equivalent to weighing the
Statue of Unity. Four times. Despite the massive waste generated in the country, India does
not have separate laws governing the disposal of sanitary waste. Only two cities – Bengaluru
and Pune – have laws on segregation of sanitary waste wherein the sanitary waste must be
separately handed over along with the dry and wet waste of the household.
According to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, menstrual waste is classified as
“sanitary waste” under the ambit of solid waste. The method for disposing sanitary waste is
incineration and the state has pushed for low-cost incinerators in various schools and
women’s complexes. The guidelines for menstrual waste disposal also further elucidate the
responsibilities of the authorities and the manufacturers in ensuring proper disposal.
Needless to say, these are not always followed. While the guidelines suggest that the
manufacturers not only provide a pouch for safe disposal of the pad but also assist the local
Disposable sanitary napkins are made of 90% plastic and keeping in mind the adhesives, packing, etc.,
each pad is equivalent to around 4 plastic bags. If we estimate the number of pads used per cycle to a
modest 8, it equates to roughly 12 billion pads disposed per year. According to a report, each of these
pads can take roughly 500 to 800 years to decompose due to their largely plastic ingredients.

3. authorities in creating awareness and handling disposal of their products, this is seldom
done.
WHO guidelines suggest that sanitary waste be incinerated at a temperature greater than
800 degrees. This is because when plastic polymers like disposable pads are burnt at lower
temperatures, asphyxiant and irritant gases into the atmosphere. However, the low-cost
incinerators that are installed in schools and women’s community complexes burn the
waste at a much lower temperature leading to the release of toxic gases like furins and
dioxins. WHO warns that these gases can travel over great distances and can cause
impairment to the immune system.
Also read: Why The PadMan Challenge Does Not Really Combat Menstruation Stigma
Stigma leading to slow solutions
Menstruation has historically been seen as an ‘impure’ affliction that the female gender has
been cursed with. Women in a majority parts of the country are still not allowed to enter
kitchens and temples while menstruating.
With conversations around the topic still remaining largely a tabooed topic, especially in the
presence of men, the road to solutions for several menstrual topics has been filled with
obstacles. The stigma surrounding menstruation leads to shame and embarrassment for
women and they prefer to get rid of the ‘evidence’ by throwing it away in the most
convenient place (pit, dustbin or pond) or washing the pieces of cloth used in the dead of
night when everyone is asleep. It also leads to women not discussing or adopting solutions
for this problem of waste disposal. The Ministry for Women and Child Development did a
great job by educating young women in rural villages about the need for maintaining proper
menstrual hygiene but perhaps it needs to expand to include the need for proper menstrual
waste disposal as well.
“The stigma surrounding menstruation leads to shame and embarrassment for women and
they prefer to get rid of the ‘evidence’ by throwing it away in the most convenient place (pit,
dustbin or pond) or washing the pieces of cloth used in the dead of night when everyone is
asleep”
In most rural areas, where women are still subjected to the prejudice of being considered impure while
menstruating, this issue is further exacerbated. Lack of access to proper disposal systems and awareness
forces them to burn or bury their pads in community pits where degradation does not occur. This has
long term implications on the health of the land. For women who live close to water bodies, the easy
solution is to throw the pads into the water, causing massive health and environment hazards.
With conversations around the topic still remaining largely a tabooed topic, especially in the presence of
men, the road to solutions for several menstrual topics has been filled with obstacles. The stigma
surrounding menstruation leads to shame and embarrassment for women and they prefer to get rid of

4. What needs to be done?
Urgent need for laws concerning menstrual waste: It is no longer sufficient to leave the
disposal of sanitary napkins to decentralised incineration methods. Sanitary napkins need
to be classified under biomedical waste and undergo centralized incineration techniques
to ensure pollution-free disposal
Alternatives to pads: On an individual level, women need to be educated about their
options and encouraged to make the more eco-friendly choice.
Segregation: Enforcing stringent rules to promote and ensure segregation of menstrual
waste will not only make identification and incineration of the waste easier but will also
preserve the hygiene and dignity of the waste collectors. One initiative that explored how
this can be achieved was the RedDot Campaign which encouraged people to mark their
sanitary waste with a red dot making it easily recognizable to the garbage collectors. Such
solutions need to be explored and enforced by law.
Education & Awareness: Highlighting the need for proper menstrual waste disposal either
through a separate public awareness campaign or including it in the awareness
campaigns that are used to encourage women to use sanitary napkins and maintain
menstrual hygiene.
Conclusion
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, as we reevaluate our environmental impact, the government
as well as the citizens need to look at this massively ignored problem of menstrual waste
disposal and work together towards concrete, sustainable solutions. Each woman who
decides to switch to a more eco-friendly sanitary product can save up to 125 kg of waste in
her menstruating years!
Also read: Menstruation Is Natural. Myths Around Menstruation Are Social Constructs.
Proper sanitary waste disposal laws and novel methods of recycling menstrual waste are the
need of the hour. It is way past time we focus on this largely ‘silent problem’ and make active
decisions to reduce our menstrual waste.
Featured Image Source: Down To Earth
the ‘evidence’ by throwing it away in the most convenient place (pit, dustbin or pond) or washing the
pieces of cloth used in the dead of night when everyone is asleep. It also leads to women not discussing
or adopting solutions for this problem of waste disposal.

5. Vaishnavi Singh
Vaishnavi Singh is an alumnus of The Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. She is deeply
interested in exploring the less understood aspects of something as vast and ever-changing as feminism.
Vaishnavi is an opinionated introvert who loves travelling, watching movies and reading everything that
she disagrees with.
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