'Sanitary bins in public toilets should be higher priority'

19th of July 2018
'Sanitary bins in public toilets should be higher priority'

Sanitary bins in in public toilets should be a higher priority for councils, according to a charity in Northern Ireland which provides hygiene products for homeless women.

The plea from Homeless Period Belfast came after it was revealed that one council has not installed sanitary bins in any of its 31 public toilets - saying there is "no statutory obligation" for it to do so.

Katrina McDonnell from the charity said the lack of facilities suggested there needed to be more discussion about the issue. "It's clearly not being treated as a priority," she said. "Periods are a taboo issue and people often forget about how it impacts women. Some people just don't think about it being an issue, but it is."

The problem is not having them installed means women may try and flush the items down the toilet which might cause the toilet to block - or they may be forced to leave it in the toilet area which is unhygienic, and could lead to more complaints about cleanliness from members of the public."

Raymond Martin from the British Toilet Association said councils were not required by law to provide public toilets, let alone sanitary bins.

"But while they are not legally bound to provide the service, they are morally obliged for tourists, visitors and shoppers," he explained. "It boils down to economics - councils are facing big budget cuts and they have to make the books balance and sanitary bin provision can be costly."

 

 

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