Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries
Menstrual hygiene waste management has received lack of attention and hence it has been poorly investigated, mainly due to its association to social and cultural aspects of a natural process, that is often surrounded of entrenched stigma and taboos. Therefore, data about quantities and full lifecycl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022011471 |
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| author | Uttpal Anand Meththika Vithanage Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha Abhijit Dey Sunita Varjani Elza Bontempi |
| author_facet | Uttpal Anand Meththika Vithanage Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha Abhijit Dey Sunita Varjani Elza Bontempi |
| author_sort | Uttpal Anand |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Menstrual hygiene waste management has received lack of attention and hence it has been poorly investigated, mainly due to its association to social and cultural aspects of a natural process, that is often surrounded of entrenched stigma and taboos. Therefore, data about quantities and full lifecycle of the generated waste are often not available or suffer of large incertitude.However, this argument represents a relevant and critical issue, not only for the health of the women, their equality, and dignity, but also possible associated environmental concerns. This work highlights the necessity and the urgency to face the problems associated with menstrual hygiene waste, which cannot be still considered only relegated to low-income countries. It gives the dimension of the waste associated to migrants in the incoming areas, which is often neglected in sanitation program implementation. This work also describes the existing knowledge gaps and suggests some actions to implement in the next future.In the pandemic context, menstrual hygiene needs urgent attention, also to understand the possible implication of this waste, generated for example in refugees' camps, in SARS-CoV-2 spread, and to prevent eventual unknown environmental issues connected with the reconvention of some factories from the production of menstrual hygiene products to facemasks manufacture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:10:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36a3916c9daa49ecb8b52b27224f5e72 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:10:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-36a3916c9daa49ecb8b52b27224f5e722022-12-22T03:40:57ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-07-0187e09859Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countriesUttpal Anand0Meththika Vithanage1Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha2Abhijit Dey3Sunita Varjani4Elza Bontempi5Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, IsraelEcosphere Resilience Research Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, CO 10250, Sri LankaEcosphere Resilience Research Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, CO 10250, Sri Lanka; Instrument Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, 10250, Sri LankaDepartment of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, West Bengal, IndiaGujarat Pollution Control Board, Paryavaran Bhavan, CHH Road, Sector 10A, Gandhinagar 382 010, Gujarat, IndiaINSTM and Chemistry for Technologies Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze, 38, 25123, Brescia, Italy; Corresponding author.Menstrual hygiene waste management has received lack of attention and hence it has been poorly investigated, mainly due to its association to social and cultural aspects of a natural process, that is often surrounded of entrenched stigma and taboos. Therefore, data about quantities and full lifecycle of the generated waste are often not available or suffer of large incertitude.However, this argument represents a relevant and critical issue, not only for the health of the women, their equality, and dignity, but also possible associated environmental concerns. This work highlights the necessity and the urgency to face the problems associated with menstrual hygiene waste, which cannot be still considered only relegated to low-income countries. It gives the dimension of the waste associated to migrants in the incoming areas, which is often neglected in sanitation program implementation. This work also describes the existing knowledge gaps and suggests some actions to implement in the next future.In the pandemic context, menstrual hygiene needs urgent attention, also to understand the possible implication of this waste, generated for example in refugees' camps, in SARS-CoV-2 spread, and to prevent eventual unknown environmental issues connected with the reconvention of some factories from the production of menstrual hygiene products to facemasks manufacture.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022011471Menstrual hygiene waste (MHW)Waste managementEnvironmental pollutionCOVID-19Human healthSustainable development goals (SDGs) |
| spellingShingle | Uttpal Anand Meththika Vithanage Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha Abhijit Dey Sunita Varjani Elza Bontempi Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries Heliyon Menstrual hygiene waste (MHW) Waste management Environmental pollution COVID-19 Human health Sustainable development goals (SDGs) |
| title | Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| title_full | Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| title_fullStr | Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| title_short | Inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste (MHW): An urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| title_sort | inapt management of menstrual hygiene waste mhw an urgent global environmental and public health challenge in developed and developing countries |
| topic | Menstrual hygiene waste (MHW) Waste management Environmental pollution COVID-19 Human health Sustainable development goals (SDGs) |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022011471 |
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