Ditching the disposable - How to reduce feminine hygiene product landfill (ie pads and tampons)

*** WARNING ***

Some people may find the topic of menstruation a bit uncomfortable so feel free NOT to read any further from here!

*** NOT GROSSED OUT? THEN READ ON! ***

When I started using cloth nappy products to try to reduce rubbish, there were lots of links to how to reduce your waste from disposable feminine hygiene products too.

Having been brought up on disposable products my whole life, I was astonished by the idea, and a little skeptical, of course. How do you clean them? Is it hygienic? Are they safe? And isn't it a bit GROSS?

Well, of course it is. If baby poo on nappies can be done and be clean then why can't blood (or breast milk) for that matter.

So for the person who would like to make a move towards reducing their feminine hygiene landfill footprint, here are a few options.


Reduce your menstruation

Surprisingly, many people think that if you don't shed your endometrium monthly, somehow a bad buildup of excess "period" is dirty of bad for you. What a period is, is that every month a hormone surge will encourage the lining of your uterus to grow and thicken so it's nice for "planting" a fertilized egg. If the egg is not fertilized then the hormone surge dissipates and the hormonal support for that thickened lining is gone, leading to shedding of that thickened lining, which is the "period".

Taking the oral contraceptive pill continuously, or having an implanted device such as an implanon, or an intrauterine device can reduce your periods. How it does that is that they have other hormones that inhibit the growth of that fertile lining for eggs (in the case with the pill and implanon, it suppresses the release of the egg) and so you don't get a period. However, much like the lining of any tissue, it has to shed every now and then so you can get spotting at various times.

The advantage of not having your lining growing and shedding all the time is that it decreases your risk of endometrial cancer. This is because the cells aren't proliferating highly because of the hormone surge. Think about it, if you're making lots of new cells, there is more chance that one of those new ones are going to go awry and become a cancer. So if you make, say, 1000 new cells a month just from normal turnover, but when you have a hormone surge to thicken your uterus lining and then shed it, now you're making 2000 cells amonth, and your risk of getting one bad one is one in 10000, then after 10 months you're likely to have 2 bad cells if you get periods, compared to one if you get none. Now that's an oversimplification, but you get the idea!

So, less periods, less feminine products used. Easy!


Menstrual Cups

Mentrual cups are inserted into the vagina and basically "catch" the blood in the cup, which you just take out and empty, wash and reinsert. However, these things are not one size fits all, and it takes some time to figure out which one is best for you.

I haven't used them myself, but this article has heaps of helpful advice on different cups, depending on the shape and length of your vagina and cervix. The reason I don't use one, is because at work, I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed washing my cup at the sink where others could see me.

It's also quite cheap. One cup is probably about $30 and that can last you for years. Think of all that landfill you're saving as well as the wallet benefits! However, I think if you are unfamiliar with inserting things into your vagina then this has a bit of a learning curve and it's an easy thing to abandon if you feel uncomfortable putting things "up there".

Reusable Cloth Pads

These are similar in materials to cloth nappies and also can be used over and over for your whole reproductive life, I think! The outlay for these is more than a menstrual cup (each pad is between $5-$12 depending on absorbancy) and like cloth nappies you probably need a good stash to get you comfortably through. I would say you would need at least 10 if you're going to wash them every day, and 15 if you want to wash every 2 days. That's easily $100, and considering it costs about $6 for a pack of 16 tampons, and $3-$6 for a pack of 16 pads, you would need 1.5 years to make any savings.

Interlabial pads sound uncomfortable but they are useful for that "gush" you can get sometimes, whether that be blood or urine, and some people swear by them.

If you bring a wet bag to put your used pads in, they will contain the smell and the wetness and they are discrete - just empty the contents for laundering when u get home.

Laundering is probably what people find a bit icky, but if you've ever had to wash your blood soaked pants from "accidents" before, then it's not that different. A bucket of cold water to soak and then wash and all the blood comes out. No fabric softener though, that will wreck absorbancy (just like cloth nappies).

Period Underwear

I had never heard of these until recently, but they seem like an awesome idea, especially for the person who wants to feel as "normal" as possible without the bulk!

Thinx and Lunapads are American brands, and Modibodi an Australian brand, and are all very similar - except for political agendas!

They look like normal undies, and I think that might scare people, because how can they not leak? The advantage of these undies is that they could also be useful for incontinence as well, so you can use them when you get older as well (or for everyday if you need it for sneeze and cough protection).  The disadvantage is that they are pricey - it's about $30 for one pair of undies. And how many undies do you need a day? Is it just one? There is also wash and drying time to consider, so I would recommend at least 3 pairs.

Alternatively, you could use these just as undies during your period when you are using some other kind of reusable product. Especially at night time or during sports! I personally think these are the best in terms of convenience as protection and though some people swear by them as the sole use during menstruation, I'd be scared if I had a heavy period.

Sea sponges

The little blurb in the pic tells all. But look at the size of them! I can't imagine they would be comfortable to insert, though they are smaller than a baby's head...

I remember when I was at Uni and read an article about a girl who was sewing strings onto her sponges much to her roomie's horror. I remember thinking at the time I wouldn't be game enough to use them.

Fast forward to now and my thinking has changed. The only thing is, I can't figure out where you can get them in Australia. Are those normal sea sponges you use for makeup ok? I assume so? Are they going to fall to bits inside you and come out piecemeal? For those that have used them, they say they are quite comfortable because they are squishy and conform to your inner curvatures better. I think you would need to sew a string on them to be able to get them out easily though. From what I can see, they cost about $30 for two, from overseas. And since they are animal products, they may be hard to get into the country past customs.

Crochet tampons

This is from eclectically creative's etsy shop

Yes, they are exactly what they are. You can buy them ready made, or make them yourself. Change every few hours like normal tampons and wash them by soaking in cold water then laundering. Cheap if u can do them yourselves. But boy do they look fiddly.

So... Are you converted yet?

Ok, there you go, things that people use as an alternative to disposables! I mean, poor people must menstruate too, or people who live in villages, what the hell do they use? I think that it's a huge mindset change that people need to go through. Most of the concerns are about extra work and cleanliness.

Dishes are a classic example. Is a disposable plate cleaner than a washed ceramic plate? Isn't it easier to throw out a plate than it is to wash it? Aren't disposable plates cheaper than a good dinner plate? And you're putting it into your MOUTH! Underwear is against the outside of your body - as are pads - so why do they have to be sterile rather than just washed clean like any other clothes?

I've just given you some options if you'd like to make a difference. Hopefully something catches your fancy, but if not, don't sweat it! Just pass this on to someone if you know they would like to consider making the change, to at least give them some ideas :)

A bargain 2nd hand buy - I love this Alannah Hill leather dress!

My fake leather dress fell to pieces the other day when I was at work (it was a front zip shift dress) and I was desperate to have another leather dress but adamant that I didn't want to look like a prostitute, and whilst I was browsing Ebay, I came across this Alannah hill dress, New Without Tags.

This frock is called Sugar Town, and I managed to pick it up for $59! What a bargain! And in my size too! It is now my new favourite dress and I love it to bits. The previous owner had bought it for a wedding but never got around to wearing it.  It is leather on the front and ponte fabric with a zip on the back. The only sad thing is that it is dry clean only.

Recycling Infant Formula tins and reusing vegetable "castoffs"

My sister had a pyramid of formula tins at her house and I told her to fill them up with kitchen food waste and I'd put it into my compost. I ended up with a whole lot of tins, and she ended up with a lot less junk in her house.

My mother told me that her sister (my aunt) would get old tins and use them as planters. Her whole garden was filled with them, so I thought I'd give it a try.

First you have to drill drainage holes in the bottom. I didn't have a drill at the time but I used a hammer and nail to make holes. But now we have a drill and I drill the holes.

Then I put a small layer of dry leaves and some shredded newspaper at the bottom, so that I wouldn't have so much dirt falling out the holes.

I filled it up with potting mix and depending on whether I had any worm castings, I'd add that when the container was about 3/4 full. Otherwise I'd mix in some blood and bone into the potting mix when the container was 3/4 full.

I had tried a whole variety of different things in the tins, but on the internet, people tend to stick to herbs. Obviously some of my experiments are not really good for the plants. I've tried a few things!

This was my first experiment with zucchini. As you can see the zucchini did well for a bit, but then soon it began to look rather sickly. It had plenty of water, and I put it on the ground in case roots wanted to dig into the soil to get more space. Next time I'll put them into a big pot!

These are dwarf beans on the left, and on the bottom right are some Thai Basil. The top right one had one rainbow chard seed, which is actually multi-germed and produce a few seedlings from each "seed."

Here is the base of a celery that I planted in one of these formula pots and it began to grow! I"m not sure how big it will get or whether I will get any usable celery from it, but it was a fun experiment. In the background is curly leaf parsley.

I also had one crop of coriander which I have already harvested. Gotta grab them before they bolt to seed though!

I had seen other people recycling their formula tins, and painting them first so they weren't so ugly to look at.

Onions are the other thing that I had planted to see if I could grow and they did sprout, but did not do well after that. I read that they need a lot of nitrogen, so I may have to fertilize a little more frequently!

It's solidly into Autumn now so I still have time to plant and get a crop before winter. I did make a raised bed in the middle of the chook area, but I wasn't sure what I could put in it that the chickens won't scratch or eat. I found this list on poultrykeeper.com:

• Garlic, Onions and Leeks
• Potatoes
• Squashes
• Legumes
• Chives, Mint, Rosemary, Tarragon and Sage
• Rhubarb (they will occasionally eat the young leaves but don’t seem to get ill)
• Climbing beans once established
• Currant Bushes (established and without fruit)
• Asparagus (once in leaf)
• Lavender

Here's hoping! It's weighing day tomorrow, so I hope the chickens have put on some weight!

How I wish I could be more Green

In this age of eco friendly, carbon neutral, recycle and reuse, there are so many things I wish I could be doing. Unfortunately though, when you're married your partner has to be in on them too!

Electricity
I would love to install solar panels. The cost of it doesn't really worry me, but my husband refuses to buy them because they're not value for money. Sometimes I think, shouldn't we all be doing our bit for the environment? Despite the cost? Before June 2009, you could get $8000 back in rebates for installing a solar energy system under the SHCP (Solar home and communities plan). But the government dumped that and is in the process of replacing it with solar credits. Which is good because that is not means tested (the original one was). So I would love to get a 1.5kW system on my roof - but that would cost me about $16-17K. That's not including rebates. Or any money I would get from putting energy back into the grid.

At the moment this is a very energy inefficient household. We use about 21-27kWh per day, and the average house uses 16kWh. There are a number of things which contribute to this!

• Computers - our computers are on A LOT. I love my computer. I do run 2 LCD monitors off mine and my husband has his one as well.
• Ducted air conditioning - though we did our best to buy what we thought to be the most energy efficient on the market (Advantage Air) it still uses a lot of energy. And we spend a lot of time warming/cooling the house because of the baby, so she doesn't get too hot or cold.
• Halogens - this house is FULL of halogen lights. They're in the bathrooms, kitchen, hallways.

Composting
I don't know much about gardening and things. I should invest in a worm farm or a compost bin, but getting my husband to put food scraps into it may be a bit of an issue! This is one area I'll be looking into later when I have more time. These are the things I'm going to investigate at a later stage:







Recycling
Gee we generate lots of rubbish. I do try and recycle as much as I can, but I'm sure I could do more. I threw out a chocolate box yesterday because it didn't have the recycling symbol on it and my husband scolded me, saying "You want to be environmentally friendly? You don't even recycle!" I don't want to try to recycle things which aren't recyclable, that makes more work for the people at the recycling place!

Water recycling
It would be nice to get laundry and other grey water back into the garden. But I hardly water my garden and the raintank outside takes care of that anyway so I don't think that it's really needed at this stage. Perhaps when I get a bigger house. We already have water efficient things all through the house - shower heads, toilets, front loading washing machine.

Growing your own vegetables
Now this would probably make a tiny difference in my carbon footprint! Think of all the transport of produce I would save... and not to mention home grown stuff! At the moment I only have herb type things such as coriander, chilli, lemongrass, kaffir lime, chives. But other things I would love to plant would include basil, lemons, tomatoes and sugar snap peas!