How often do we see used sanitary napkins littering the streets or clogging our drains? Well, clearly sanitary waste disposal is a huge problem that needs to be tackled before it is too late.
Why We Need To Tackle The Menstrual Waste Menace
The Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India (MHAI) has approximated that there are 336 million menstruating women in India. If we consider the number of sanitary napkins used per menstrual cycle to be a conservative eight, this implies that we need to handle over 12 billion sanitary napkins- out of which majority are non-biodegradable. The plastic waster thereby generated would take about 500-800 years to decompose.
So, what can be done? Well, this 18-year old girl from Coimbatore has taken a major step towards what can and SHOULD gradually turn into the norm.
#EcoWarrior Steps In
Tamil Nadu: Ishana, an 18-yr-old from Coimbatore is producing reusable cotton sanitary napkins. She says, "Chemical gel in ordinary sanitary napkins poses health hazards to women. The sanitary napkin I've developed is made of layers of cotton cloth. It's reusable & eco-friendly". pic.twitter.com/uSY2U7Lqd2
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2019
While we all know that hazardous synthetic napkins take a toll on the environment, Ishana, from Tamil Nadu decided to do something about it. She started producing her own eco-friendly napkins made out of cotton. The thought came into her mind when she realised that not many women are aware of the cons of using synthetic (which is a form of plastic) pads and that all must know how to maintain menstrual hygiene. Personally, the 18-year old had started facing health issues because of using non-biodegradable pads and when she realised that her friends are dealing with similar problems, she scaled-up production.
Speaking about her innovative idea, Ishana told a leading news agency, “I was inspired to produce cotton sanitary napkins after I faced health problems due to the use of ordinary pads. Now, I want to educate more and more people on how to make sanitary pads with a cotton cloth. The product that I have developed is made with layers of cotton cloth. It is reusable and eco-friendly,” she said.
Twitterati Is As Impressed As We Are!
The internet, meanwhile, is quite impressed with Ishana and WHY NOT? Twitterati is all praises for the game changer! While some wrote, “Wow excellent. Salute this talented girl,” another one called her “Pad-woman!” Many others thanked her for being a role model.
‘Salute You’
Wow excellent
Salute this talented girl— Pooja Bharti (@poojagautam97) November 12, 2019
Appreciable work.
Salute to this Girl. 🙏— Furquan Ahmad🌍 (@OfficialFurquan) November 12, 2019
18-Year Old Garners Respect
Respect
— Human Being (@Deshihindustani) November 12, 2019
‘Keep It Up!’
Good Job keep it up 👍👌😊
— Vishnu Sunar (@vish_soni) November 12, 2019
Now, isn’t that a wonderful initiative?
Featured Image: Twitter
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