Dispose sanitary waste in an eco-friendly way

Social good

Unmindful of the environmental and health hazard it causes, many women simply flush soiled sanitary napkins or throw it in the bin – without following any disposal procedures. This waste then reaches waste collectors, who face innumerable problems while handling the same for further disposal.

This impelled Chennai-based Anisha Nichani to do something for the environment as well as the sanitary waste handlers, and hence she came up with the idea for Svacch bags — biodegradable sanitary napkin disposal bags, made of recycled newspaper.

 “To me, sanitary hygiene is of utmost importance. Therefore I decided to make and retail disposal bags for used sanitary napkins, since disposal of sanitary waste is a bad scene in our country. I also wanted to use recycled materials to add to the environment friendly factor. Hence Svacch was born,” she tells Metrolife.

Aimed at improving the hygiene conditions at dumping grounds and standardise the way Indian women dispose their sanitary waste, the bags also intend to make soiled sanitary napkins identifiable for waste-pickers.

 All bags are made by women to whom this primary/additional source of income helps make ends meet. Further, a portion of the revenue from the sale of the bags is used to facilitate free sanitary napkins to lesser-privileged women who have little/no access to them.

 “One particular episode of show Satyamev Jayate was focussing on the same issue, and a lady named Lakshmi from the Solid Waste and Collection Handling in Pune spoke about the difficulties her team of waste collectors faced in disposing the same. I then got in touch with her and told her about my idea. Coincidently, this organisation had already tried the same — sanitary disposal bags made from newspaper. I initially was fine with being their Chennai marketer, but she said she was okay with me starting the product independently,” she says, talking about the conceptualisation of Svacch.

However, Nichani made a few changes to the original product - one, she marketed the product herself, and two, she used a double sided tape to seal the bag compared to the twines they used.

“A double sided tape ensures that the content of the bag stays inside. However, since the size and the making of the bag is same as the Pune ones, even today, we give the concept credit to the Pune organisation on all our packaging labels,” she says.

 Priced at Rs 20 for a pack of 10 disposal bags, Svachch bags are made using newspapers, 95 percent of which is donated to them by Nichani’s family and friends, and a few people who support their cause and want to contribute in some way. She adds that other materials like glue, print for the label and stationery is supplied by her to the ladies – who are then paid for every complete bag they make. Currently, she has a team of 10 women who directly work with her.

 Talking about the challenges she faced, Nichani says the biggest one till date had been to convince a few customers about the importance of her product.

 “Sure, everyone realises the important of proper disposal, but how many of us really care for the environment? One question I often hear is that ‘Why should I spend so much (Rs 2) on something that is going to the dustbin?” she says.