How to address menstrual hygiene management sustainably and at scale?

Description

In developing markets, intensive product marketing, international aid, NGO encouragement, and progressive popular media have started to challenge traditional menstruation management methods, resulting in significant gains in terms of sanitation and health. Increasingly more women are getting access to menstrual products[1] and don’t need to rely on cow dung, goat skin, sand, feathers, rags, etc.

With an expanding population and disposable income, hyper-growth of these products is a possibility, if not already a reality. However, this “solution” comes with a pressing new problem. These menstrual products are ending up in water supplies, burned with domestic waste, or left to be picked up by waste pickers who are exposed to biological material. As a result of prevailing social norms, lack of awareness, and inadequate facilities, these products are becoming an environmental threat.