Reducing Menstrual Waste

By Anne

Reducing Menstrual Waste

Reducing Menstrual Waste

For many of us, periods come hand in hand with disposable products. Did you know that with one small change you can have a big environmental and financial impact? 

You can reduce menstrual waste and save money by using a menstrual cup! This tiny little friend helps you to limit your disposable period products usage. Keep reading to learn more about the impact you make by using a menstrual cup.

What makes disposable menstrual products wasteful?

Conventional period products are at the top of most people’s minds when we think about how to manage our periods. Pads are the most frequently chosen product, followed closely by tampons. 

These products are made with a combination of fibers that absorb your fluids, which can be synthetic or natural. Many  tampons contain 6% of plastic, and pads contain a whopping 90% of plastic! Often, tampons also come with a plastic applicator. 

These products are disposable, meaning that they can be used once only and then dumped straight into the bin.

How much waste do menstrual products produce?

Let’s start with tampons. 

Generally, you are instructed to change your tampon every four to eight hours, so on average every six hours. Using one tampon every six hours means we use at least four tampons per day. Multiplying that by five days on your period (even though many of us bleed for longer) means we use twenty tampons per cycle. Multiply twenty by one hundred and twenty (twelve periods per year for ten years) and this results in no less than 2.400 tampons used in ten years! 

For all you pad users out there, we have the following calculation for you:

One pad is recommended to be worn for not longer than four hours, with an exception of night pads which can be used for about 8 hours. This means we use around five pads per day. This makes at least twenty five pads per cycle. Multiply this by one hundred and twenty and this results in 3.000 pads used in ten years. 

Personally, these numbers blow me away. And these numbers are excluding the packaging our period products are brought to us in! 

The Marine Conservation Society has revealed that on average, 4.8 pieces of menstrual products are found per 100 meters of beach… Not really the kind of beach day we are hoping for.

Menstrual Waste in Ocean

It’s not just hard on the environment, it’s also hard on the wallet

By now, it’s pretty clear we throw away a ton of disposable menstrual products every month. Now it’s time to talk about money! 

For an average tampon, a package containing 16 tampons costs you around €4,69. This makes it €0,29 per tampon. Multiply this by 2.400 and you get a whopping €703,50! 

Crazy, right? 

Pads users are no exception. A large package of regular? pads will cost €40,89 and include 224 pads. This makes them €0,18 per pad. This, multiplied by 3.000, makes them €540 total. I think we all know other causes we would prefer to spend this money on.

Solution to reducing menstrual waste: Phia Cup

If these numbers are overwhelming you as much as they overwhelmed me, we have some good news!

Phia Cup does not only produce zero menstrual waste (the cardboard packaging is recyclable!), this almighty menstrual cup will last you up to 10 years, making it virtually a one-time investment! Even if you end up renewing your cup more often than this, you’ll still be reducing your waste tremendously and saving tons of money. 

Reducing your menstrual waste by using a Phia Cup comes into effect immediately. You will notice straight away a steep decline on the amount of products you use to manage your period. The sustainable aspect of this little cup is a huge pro of the product. Oh and side note, you can wear your menstrual cup for up to 12 hours. Convenient, right? 

Ever since I committed to the cup, I’ve become more conscious of my period, my impact, and my body. It’s life-changing!

Phia Cup Zero Waste Period

My experience with Phia Cup

I got introduced to the Phia Cup a few months ago. I had used another menstrual cup before and, while it also contributed to reducing my menstrual waste, using that cup was a bit of a struggle sometimes. This led to me grabbing tampons and pads more often than I wished for. 

When I started using my Phia Cup, I noticed the difference immediately. 

Phia Cup’s shape is different from conventional cups. Because of the shape, leaking is virtually non-existent. The foldable triangles make folding effortless, and the flat base at the bottom makes inserting sooo much easier - kinda reminds me of a tampon this way. The cup’s handle also makes removing the cup pain-free. 

For my last few cycles, I have barely used any menstrual products other than my beloved cup! Only the occasional panty liner for some extra reassurance when I have heavy flow days. I can happily say that using the Phia Cup has helped me greatly with reducing menstrual waste and has also made my period a lot more manageable.

Earth Day

Earth day is an annual celebration to honor the achievements of the sustainable movements around the world and raise action and awareness about the challenges we are still facing. We wanted to use this opportunity to discuss the growing mountain of waste brought by disposable menstrual products. We hope this informed and inspired you to consider zero-waste alternatives like Phia Cup

Earth Day Phia Cup

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