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Periods have no smell! This is what I discovered when I started using menstrual cups, and here’s the story of how I got to it.
Four months back my friend shared a story about a work site, where he was laying underground petroleum pipelines. Every time the earth drilling machine drilled into the depths of the earth, it used to get stuck. The team couldn’t understand the reason as they were using one of the finest drilling machines with state of the art technology. So my friend ordered the drilling equipment in-charge to pull back the drill bits as it was, from the earth.
He was shocked to see sanitary pads, plastic ropes and plastic bags clogging the pores of the drilling equipment – this was leading to its choking/getting stuck.
Later, he came to know that the site on which he was asked to work was a waste dump site. The government had spread many layers of mud on it and started using the land for other purposes. The layering of dirt was done almost 18-20 years back. Yet, nothing could decompose the stubborn pads and plastics. The silicone pads that are available in the market are non-biodegradable. If you want to get rid of these sanitary pads, you have to incinerate them in a furnace, which is not that common or readily available in India.
Shocking! I haven’t even started walking on the road that leads to Menopause. But from the age of 15 up to the present, when I think of all the pads I have tossed in the bin, I don’t know how many decades it will take for them to decompose! What am I leaving for the many future generations, a land of dead blood locked in a polymer gel? No!
It is time has to do something about this problem. I am pleased to share that I now use menstrual cups and they can be recycled along with other plastic materials. Here are some of the pluses of menstrual cups:
It is complicated and two fingers messy in the beginning. You might feel that it would enter inside your body and you will need to visit a doctor. Relax! It’s a vagina and not a cave.
By changing nothing, nothing changes. I promise you, it is worth it.
Here’s Why I switched To Cloth Sanitary Pads, And I Think You Should Too
Using A Menstrual Cup: “What If There’s No Toilet?” And Other Questions You Always Wanted Answered
From Sustainable Menstruator To Menstrual Educator: What I Learnt Beyond Just ‘Hygiene’
Movies Like #PadMan Are Making Menstruation An ‘Ordinary’ Topic, Not Hush-Hush
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