Table of Contents
- The mammoth task of managing menstrual waste in India
- India has close to 12.3 billion disposable sanitary napkins to take care of every year, majority of which are not biodegradable/compostable
Why there is need to talk?
- 336 million menstruating women in India
- 36 per cent use disposable sanitary napkins — that totals to 121 million women.
- India has 12.3 billion disposable sanitary napkins to take care of every year, majority of which are not biodegradable/compostable.
Solid Waste Management Rules 2016:
- These rules replace the Municipal Solid Wastes
- They focus on segregation of waste at source
- It has also been advised that the biodegradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting
- The Rules for the Safe Treatment of Legacy Waste prescribe bio-remediation and biomining in all open dumpsites and existing operational dumpsites in India.
- Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution
Clean India’ and menstrual waste classification
- Commitment to ‘Clean India’ is evident in letter and spirit
- One topic, that continues to remain under wraps due to persistent social and cultural taboos yet falls squarely in the area of waste management, is the issue of menstrual waste management
- While the ministries of Women and Child Development and Human Resources have created an enabling environment for girls and women to access these essential healthcare products, raising awareness on menstrual hygiene management and breaking the silence and stigma around menstruation on the issue of safe disposal, other ministries need to move cohesively together – and quickly.
How is menstrual waste classified?
- The SWM Rules consider menstrual waste as solid waste and define it as sanitary waste within the same
- Over the past few years, the MHAI has been pulling together a wide group of people, including government/semi government authorities, implementing agencies, researchers, technocrats, journalists and sanitary napkin manufacturers to deliberate on the mounting crisis around safe disposal of menstrual waste.
Impact on the environment
- Given this, there are two decentralised methods for management of menstrual waste — small scale incineration and composting. Both can be done for disposable pads
- The environmental risk of incineration against the environmental risk of disposal in landfills needs to be weighed and understood better.
Current disposal mechanisms
- In the waste-to-energy technology incinerators the waste generates energy/electricity. Combustion happens in highly controlled environments carefully regulating temperature and pressure, potentially controlling emissions even at low temperatures. Innovations in waste to energy incinerators for community and institutional use are underway. These can incinerate all types of napkins.
Conclusion
- Menstruation is a normal bodily function
- The only way to get menstrual waste disposed of safely and efficiently, requires collective attention to this massive environmental health issue. Way Forward
- An inter-ministerial task force
- Use of incinerators should be specific to the suitability for various types of products, keeping in mind the environmental impact
- Categorisation of menstrual waste to all relevant stakeholders communicated
- Standards for waste management specified
- Companies make truly compostable products
- Regulations support people to do the right thing with all their waste
- Systems are set up to facilitate proper waste handling
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