Menstrual cups reduce plastic waste generation by 99%: Soumya Swaminathan

According to a recent report, one woman generates around 14.1 kg of non-biodegradable waste in a lifetime if she uses commercially manufactured disposable sanitary pads

Menstrual cups reduce the generation of non-biodegradable waste by 99 per cent compared to the waste produced by disposable sanitary pads, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said on Monday.

Dr Swaminathan was speaking at the launch of a report on use menstrual cups, a method for managing menstrual hygiene.

The report by Action Research and Training for Health (ARTH) titled 'Why India needs to move beyond sanitary pads’ highlighted that when given information and demos, girls and women are open to adopting menstrual cups as an eco-friendly alternative to sanitary pads. The think tank said in the report that it was successfully able to introduce menstrual cups in two districts of Rajasthan as part of a documented study. It emphasises the urgent need to expand to sustainable and reusable methods, which benefit both, women and the environment.

The report estimates that a woman generates around 14.1 kilogram of non-biodegradable waste in a lifetime if she uses commercially manufactured disposable sanitary pads. 

On the other hand, if she uses menstrual cups, she will generate 600 gram of non-biodegradable waste. Silicone menstrual cups are non-biodegradable but do not break down into microplastics and can be recycled, the researchers said in the report. It, therefore, has a lower environmental impact than pads and tampons. 

Dr Swaminathan said, “This reduces the generation of total non-biodegradable waste by 99 per cent and is an example of a win-win intervention that is good for the environment and good for health and hygiene. Menstrual cups are practical, hygienic, and cost-effective. More and more women need to know about them and myths around their use need to be busted.”

Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of Population Foundation of India, said the advantages of menstrual cups were that it offered longer duration of menstrual apart from cost-effectiveness.

“However, it is important to undertake communication campaigns with communities that they support the use of menstrual cups. Evidence shows that women who transitioned from locally made cloth pads to cups experienced high levels of satisfaction. Promoting cups as a method of menstrual hygiene management along with other options like pads and tampons will offer choice to women and let them choose a method that they prefer to use,” she said.

Why are sanitary pads harmful to the environment?

According to the report, a disposable sanitary pad comprises four layers -- a permeable top layer, transfer layer, absorbent core, and back sheet, apart from adhesives and paper-release. The average sanitary napkin comprises 48 per cent fluff pulp, 36 per cent polyethylene and polypropylene, 7 per cent adhesives, 6 per cent super-absorbent polymers (SAPs) and 3 per cent release paper out of which only fluff pulp and paper are biodegradable while the remaining 49 per cent is non biodegradable. Certain additives are added to such pads, which on exposure to the sun’s UV rays undergo inorganic oxidative degradation into smaller plastic polymers including microplastics, which remain in the environment until they biodegrade over many years, the report said.

Problem of plastic pollution

According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), around 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic is currently found in oceans and it is estimated that 1,000 rivers are accountable for nearly 80 per cent of global annual riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, which ranges between 0.8 and 2.7 million tonnes per year.

India generates around 3.4 million tonnes (MT) of plastic waste annually and only 30 per cent of it is recycled, according to Plastics, The Potential and Possibilities report prepared in association with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Praxis Global Alliance. 

To tackle the increasing menace of plastic waste, the Government of India enacted a ban on single-use plastics on July 1, 2022. In India, single-use plastic waste accounts for 43 per cent of plastic waste generated in India.