Bangalore University (BU) students are not aware of an incinerator in their hostels, dispose of sanitary pads in regular waste.
Bangalore: Sanitary pad vending machines are gathering dust and are covered with spider webs, while the incinerators have stopped working in Bangalore University ladies’ hostels. Inmates, however, are not aware of either the sanitary pad vending machine or the incinerator.
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the central government announced that every college should install sanitary pad vending machine along with eco-friendly incinerator for the disposal of the pads. The objective of the government is to achieve a clean and healthy India.
Nagbhusan, hostel manager, said, “10 years ago we installed this sanitary pad vending machine with the incinerator after getting the notice from the Bangalore University,. But girls didn’t use the incinerator; they threw it in the dustbin. Nobody uses pads from the sanitary pad vending machine. That’s why we are not restocking it. Girls use their own pads from different brands.”
Shrabani, an inmate said that sanitary pad vending machines are very useful during emergency when they don’t have their own pads, but the hostel authorities do not restock it.
Staff at the Ladies Hostel 2 said that they have an incinerator. They installed it two years back. But they don’t have a sanitary pad vending machine. The hostel is a five storey building and the incinerator is on the ground floor. So nobody comes to the ground floor to dispose of it. Instead, the throw their used pads in the dustbin, which in front of their rooms. She said, “In the beginning students had been using the incinerator but now we don’t know if it’s working or not”
Harshita, a hosteller said, “I was not awarethat we have an incinerator in our hostel. I agree that the incinerator is much needed as sanitary pads take so many years to decompose, but I throw in it our dustbin.”
The hostel warden said that the use of the incinerator had been stopped due to the foul smell that emanated.
According to a research paper, “Sanitary pads consist of up to 90 per cent plastic and take around 500-800 years to biodegrade. One sanitary pad may contain as much plastic as four supermarket bags.”
Dr. Priya. T. Nandimath, Public Health Expert said that every woman faces the need for pads in emergency situations, therefore to have pad vending machines in public places, college campuses and hostels is necessary.
Dr. Nandimath added that colleges should encourage students to use incinerators. They should also provide affordable and eco-friendly sanitary pads. Proper disposal of the used pads is equally important.
