Ladies Without Plastic - Green Menstruation. Environmental challenge by Sofonie Dala, Angola. Webisode 7

 Our Africa Educates her Campaign season 5 is on going 

Green Menstruation - Webisode 7

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, 

Welcome to the seventh day of our environmental challenge Women Without Plastic - Key to reduce our carbon footprints! 

Greenhouse emissions 

That little strip of plastic on the back of your pad that holds it in place - not only is it non-biodegradable, but it requires a huge amount of fossil fuel to manufacture.

 Menstrual hygiene products emit about 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gases during the manufacturing process and can take up to 35 million barrels of oil to produce. So if you’re trying to make a greener impact on the world, it’s time to think twice about your period protection.

Our guest today is  Engracia, she will share something interesting.

Good evening!

Good evening.

Which of these two pads do you use?

I use this one, the disposable.

Why?

Because it's the easiest.

But what's easy there?

Because after using it and just take it out and throw it away.

Have you ever used the washable pad?

No.

Why?

Because after using it, I'll have to wash it, touch the blood with my hands, I think it's disgusting. I do not like.

Did you know that disposables contain plastic that pollute the environment?

I did not know.

Did you also know that this menstrual waste when thrown in the landfill causes global warming?

I didn't know either.

New options for feminine hygiene products could greatly reduce solid waste impacts and have other environmental benefits. 

The average person who menstruates will spend 10 years bleeding in her lifetime! She’ll use more than 11,000 tampons or pads during this time. Imagine that piled up in front of you. Now times that by 2 billion (that’s how many women are of menstruating age right now). It’s estimated that worldwide there are around 100 billion menstrual hygiene products disposed of annually. That’s a lot of waste. And each bit of plastic could take between 500 and 800 years to decompose.

So does switching to a more sustainable method for managing your period really make a difference? Yes. It certainly does.