Could menstrual cups help bin plastic waste?

A new report suggests they could not only improve women’s health, comfort and bank account – they could also help slash their environmental footprint

Menstrual cups could not only improve women’s health, comfort and bank account – they could also help slash their environmental footprint.

That’s according to a new report published in the Lancet Public Health journal, which suggests they can also be bought and used with relative ease, regardless of where the user lives and what their income level is.

It notes they are more suitable than other options for women who live in drought stricken areas, which are forecasted to grow as climate change becomes more severe.

The study highlights that compared with using 12 pads per period, the use of a menstrual cup would make up only 5% of the purchase costs and 0.4% of the plastic waste – compared with 12 tampons per period, it says a menstrual cup would comprise 7% of the purchase costs and produce only 6% of the plastic waste.

The report reads: “When considering financial and environment costs, using accumulated estimates over 10 years, purchase costs and waste from consistent use of a menstrual cup would be a small fraction of the purchase costs and waste of pads or tampons.”

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