Improper disposal of sanitary pads a climate concern

STAIN-FREE, stay-in-place, no leakage, comfortable to wear, and light on the pocket are women's top priorities when they buy commercial sanitary napkins.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT

But what they don't consider is their safe disposal, and how over 12 billion of these non-biodegradable pads are filling our landfills, sewerage system, water bodies and fields, therefore posing a colossal environmental and health risks.

As the decomposition of sanitary pads takes over 500 years, what is needed, experts said on the occasion of World Environment Day, that manufacturers of these products should not use toxic material in them as 90 per cent of them have plastic and other materials like super absorbent polymers (SAP), chemicals, and cellulosic materials.

According to Bishwanath Sinha, Director, Policy and Technical Support, WaterAid India, an international charity that works in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene services, while the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifies quality standards for sanitary pads, these standards are not mandatory and not enforced strictly.