Aafrin Kidwai 
A recent study by Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link has found that around 12.3 billion sanitary napkins, which amounts to 113,000 tonnes of waste, reached India’s landfills every year. Commonly available sanitary napkins constitute 90 percent of the entire plastic waste, estimated to be 3.3 million tonnes per annum, the report states. Thus, the contribution of menstrual waste to the country’s annual plastic waste accumulation is thus less than three percent.
Improper disposal and non-segregation from household waste are the primary reasons why the untreated waste is reaching the landfills, as per the report. Small-scale incinerators have emerged as the preferred technology to dispose of used sanitary pads and have been adopted by educational institutions and hostels in the villages, the report noted. These low-cost methods generate toxic fumes which is an environmental and health hazard.
Sanitary pads are supposed to be wrapped in pouches provided by manufacturers and handed over to waste collectors separately, according to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. But the survey by Toxic Links found that there is no system to manage it.
