Sanitary Bin refusal

MJOR

Ok Girls this is a bit ick but we moved premises recently and now we all share a toilet. I emailed my boss and asked him for a sanitary bin and he emailed me back saying he had got a bin in the hardware store.

I mailed him back yesterday and said that it was sensitive and for hygiene purposes as we all share a toilet a proper ST bin would be better. No reply!

We all share a toilet and as the only woman with five men I don't want to dispose of the old "spring rolls" in the regualr bin as everyone will know when I am menstruating.

I am already paranoid as I heard one of the bosses saying he got a smell off one of the other lads.

Am i over reacting?? but surely he has dispose of this waste properly?

In the last place we had our own toilets and I could dispose straight into the wheelie bin without being seen. I used to keep special bags in the toilet. There are cameras everywhere (except the loo) in our new building.

Giselle

MJOR wrote: »

I mailed him back yesterday and said that it was sensitive and for hygiene purposes as we all share a toilet a proper ST bin would be better. No reply!

Surely he has to? I'd be surprised if there wasn't some health and safety directive regarding sanitary disposal.

You just put me off spring rolls btw.:D

Edit: did a quick google and sanitary waste is considered hazardous waste and your employer is obliged to provide appropriate disposal facilities.

BettePorter

MJOR wrote: »

Ok Girls this is a bit ick but we moved premises recently and now we all share a toilet. I emailed my boss and asked him for a sanitary bin and he emailed me back saying he had got a bin in the hardware store.

I mailed him back yesterday and said that it was sensitive and for hygiene purposes as we all share a toilet a proper ST bin would be better. No reply!

We all share a toilet and as the only woman with five men I don't want to dispose of the old "spring rolls" in the regualr bin as everyone will know when I am menstruating.

I am already paranoid as I heard one of the bosses saying he got a smell off one of the other lads.

Am i over reacting?? but surely he has dispose of this waste properly?

In the last place we had our own toilets and I could dispose straight into the wheelie bin without being seen. I used to keep special bags in the toilet. There are cameras everywhere (except the loo) in our new building.

How big are your tampons / sanitary towels exactly that you need a wheelie bin to dispose of them discreetly ? To be fair , a sanitary bin for one girl , a few hours a month seems a bit ott. Can't you just improvise like you do at home ?

Giselle

BettePorter wrote: »

How big are your tampons / sanitary towels exactly that you need a wheelie bin to dispose of them discreetly ? To be fair , a sanitary bin for one girl , a few hours a month seems a bit ott. Can't you just improvise like you do at home ?

How big her tampons are is how big anyones are. :rolleyes:

She's entitled to want to dispose of them discreetly and hygenically. Nothing at all ott about that, and she shouldn't have to 'improvise' when the law states she should have those facilities.

Thats tantamount to telling her to put up or shut up - not helpful.

BettePorter

Giselle wrote: »

How big her tampons are is how big anyones are. :rolleyes:

She's entitled to want to dispose of them discreetly and hygenically. Nothing at all ott about that, and she shouldn't have to 'improvise' when the law states she should have those facilities.

Thats tantamount to telling her to put up or shut up - not helpful.

Oh For God sake !

I work with 22 Men and lil ole me and for the last 5 years i have managed to survive a few hours hassle a month to dispose of same in both a discreet and hygenic manner ! Spouting laws is no more helpful than suggesting a more practical, money saving practice.

Do you actually have a suggestion Gisele or was your sole purpose just to demand your rights !? Do you suggest she sue ? Have some common sense for god sake

Silverfish

BettePorter wrote: »

Oh For God sake !

I work with 22 Men and lil ole me and for the last 5 years i have managed to survive a few hours hassle a month to dispose of same in both a discreet and hygenic manner ! Spouting laws is no more helpful than suggesting a more practical, money saving practice.

Do you actually have a suggestion Gisele or was your sole purpose just to demand your rights !? Do you suggest she sue ? Have some common sense for god sake

Keep it civil, there's no need to be condescending.

BettePorter

MJOR wrote: »

Ok Girls this is a bit ick but we moved premises recently and now we all share a toilet. I emailed my boss and asked him for a sanitary bin and he emailed me back saying he had got a bin in the hardware store.

I mailed him back yesterday and said that it was sensitive and for hygiene purposes as we all share a toilet a proper ST bin would be better. No reply!

We all share a toilet and as the only woman with five men I don't want to dispose of the old "spring rolls" in the regualr bin as everyone will know when I am menstruating.

I am already paranoid as I heard one of the bosses saying he got a smell off one of the other lads.

Am i over reacting?? but surely he has dispose of this waste properly?

In the last place we had our own toilets and I could dispose straight into the wheelie bin without being seen. I used to keep special bags in the toilet. There are cameras everywhere (except the loo) in our new building.

OP you asked a direct question above, which i answered , yes i do think you are over reacting and i offered the suggestion of improvising. The remark re the size of your tampons was rhetorical , something that seems to be an alien notion to some people ( being in a similar situation i feel i am qualified and well within my rights to answer this predicament you have!) In doing so i was accused of telling you to shut up and then rebuked for arguing that assertion !

Input is pointless it seems as apparently only the PC answers are allowed !

Now i remember why it is i choose to work with 22 men !

cdaly_

My initial thought was that it would be reasonable to chuck tampons down the loo but it's probably reasonable to have an ST facility available for female visitors and so worth demanding...

Silverfish

I also work with 20 men, there ate female toilets and there are sanitary disposal units.

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask, especially if sharing a toilet with men, for their sake as well.

LegacyUser

OP, can I ask, what do you do with these things when you're at home? Surely you don't have proper sanitary bins there, and yet you manage OK?

If you're really that paranoid about it, why not get nappy bags and put your pads/tampons into them? That would prevent any possible smell etc? Or if you're really paranoid, put the used items in a nappy bag and bring them with you for disposal at home? However, as your boss has provided adequate disposal facilities (i.e. a bin) I don't really even see the need for you to do even this.

Lots of grown-ups manage to share toilets with other grown-ups on a regular basis. Deal with it. You're the only woman there - can you not see how ridiculous it would be to get a whole special bin just for your use for one week of the month (and surely getting a bin would just draw more attention to the whole issue!) Just deal with it, find a solution, like us other grown ups do.

Plus, on a practical basis, think about how rarely it would have to be emptied (considering it's just you using it?) Surely that would end up being smellier ... seeing as that's what you seem to be concerned about!

BettePorter

Silverfish wrote: »

I also work with 20 men, there ate female toilets and there are sanitary disposal units.

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask, especially if sharing a toilet with men, for their sake as well.

you've got ppl here suggesting chucking them down the loo yet i'm getting slated for suggesting she take account of the fact that she has said she is the ONLY woman in the place and in this day and age of saving money surely she can manage to save the cost of emptying one of these units once a week ? a Forthnight ? a month ?

I mean seriously, on a practical level, given weekends and flow patterns what are you going to have ? 4- 5 tampons a cycle ? so they can empty it once a week, three weeks out of four its empty, or once a month and hope she dead on time ! or she can ring them when its full in which case, that goes beyond the realms of unhygenic.

I'm trying to be practical while you're all trying to be righteous !

Silverfish

I'm not saying the point you are trying to make is wrong.

I am saying you could use a less aggressive and condescending tone.

Now, either contribute to the thread civilly or don't post.

Lia_lia

Wait a seck, am I the only person that flushes tampons in the toilet? Isn't that what you're suppose to do? Anyway, get a mooncup!

CnaG

Lia_lia wrote: »

Anyway, get a mooncup!

I was about to suggest exactly the same thing. Menstrual cups don't need to be disposed of, and switching to one will cut out your quandary. Plus, as far as I can figure, they're the most environmentally friendly option for dealing with menstruation

Victor

Lia_lia wrote: »

Wait a seck, am I the only person that flushes tampons in the toilet? Isn't that what you're suppose to do?

The problem is that they absorb water and are at risk of blocking the drainage system, especially in basements where there is a pump involved - the tampons get stuck in the pump. It gets worse with sanitary pads, "untearable" tissue papers and drainage systems with inappropriate designs.

WindSock

Wrap your spring rolls in toilet paper, then compact it into a ball so it looks like rolled up tissue and chuck in bin. Cover with more paper if need be. Your rhythmic secrets will remain safe.

pow wow

Sanitary disposal units are surprisingly cheap to hire so I wouldn't think it's cost prohibitive - it might just be your boss can't be bothered with the hassle of it. Who empties your regular bin at work? I ask because there is a potential issue with normal office cleaners coming into contact with what is considered 'hazardous' waste (along the same lines as why hospitals don't throw waste with human fluids on in the wastepaper bin).

Taking my H&S hat off though, I would have been inclined to say pop them in a nappy sack and either put them in the normal bin or bring them home and pop them in your own bin.

coffee_cake

WindSock wrote: »

Wrap your spring rolls in toilet paper, then compact it into a ball so it looks like rolled up tissue and chuck in bin. Cover with more paper if need be. Your rhythmic secrets will remain safe.

Yep this is my suggestion also

ztoical

Given the small number of people empolyed your boss might not have to provide sanitary bins. I say might as I haven't had a chance to check the Irish law but in the UK there must be a minimum number of female empolyees [usually 10] in order for a company to have sanitary bins provided by law.

Agree with several others that it's a bit of an over reaction. I've worked in plenty of places that didn't have sanitary bins and it never bothered me. There's a bin there so either wrap them up well or give the mooncup a try.

Truley

I would be inclined to say a sanitary bin isn't a good idea if there's only one woman using it. It would probably take months to fill up and be emptied, so likely to cause just as bad a smell anyway. Personally if I was using a tampon/towel I would just wrap it in loads of paper and shove it to the bottom of the bin, cover with more paper. Thankfully I use a mooncup so I never have this problem anyway!

baby and crumble

Ok, slightly off topic, but what's the story with the mooncup? the idea of it both intrigues and slightly grosses me out at the same time... How often do you have to change it, and if you have very heavy periods, is it likely to leak or anything?

wolfmoon87

Zoegh, here is the thread on menstrual cups

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055214177&highlight=mooncup

Chuchoter

The system will only break if there were 20 women flushing tampons (sanitary towels I don't know, they don't degrade). I think asking for a bin would draw more attention to it.

SarahBeep!

To be honest I think you deserve your own toilet!

dollyk

mooncup, gosh im 46 and never knew they existed.. and to the O.P, I think you have a right to have a bin installed, and it would be emptied monthly regardless of if it was used or not, as the fluid used in the bins has to be replaced every four weeks to keep it sterile.

ztoical

dollyk wrote: »

and to the O.P, I think you have a right to have a bin installed, and it would be emptied monthly regardless of if it was used or not, as the fluid used in the bins has to be replaced every four weeks to keep it sterile.

For such a small company it just seems like a waste. The OP doesn't state if they have customers/members of the public coming into the office and using the washroom so assuming it's only 6 people using the bathroom I don't see why they should have to go to the extra cost for one person. Why stop at the sanitary bin...is there a urinal installed? What about handicapped facilities? Or seperate male and female bathrooms? Small companies have to have “suitable and sufficient” wash room facilities and it all comes down to the size of the company as to the level of what is sufficient.

Sanitary waste from feminine hygiene waste bins is an expected part of commercial and domestic waste [does everyone here have a sanitary bin in their home? No you chuck it in with your regular bins]. Waste from the sanitary bins at a normal commercial premises is not regarded as clinical waste therefore a company does not need to dispose of feminie hygiene waste in a special bin unless they are producing in excess of 7kg of the stuff. It is only when sanitary waste is collected in bulk like at say a hospital that must be treated differently. A pedal bin, with a liner would be deemed sufficient for the size of the company in question.

WindSock

There is a line between your right and common sense. ^ good point there by ztoical, where would it stop? And as previous commenters have said, to get the bin emptied every week would be nonsense, especially when it is empty for 3 weeks a month.

So what do you do, call the disposal everytime you have finished your cycle? Or leave the waste in there to stink out the facilities? Much less hassle to use a regular bin like at home. I have worked in many small places before where there are other women and would never expect a disposal unit for such a small group, let alone just me, be it a 'right' or not. Health n Safety gone mad I tells ya!!!!!!!

Posy

WindSock wrote: »

Wrap your spring rolls in toilet paper, then compact it into a ball so it looks like rolled up tissue and chuck in bin. Cover with more paper if need be. Your rhythmic secrets will remain safe.

That's exactly what I do, both at home and at work. My workplace has one loo, for both boys and girls too (there's only 3 of us!!) and doesn't have a sanitary bin either. It's never really bothered me, to be honest.

PinkBinLady

Hi All,
Just a comment on Ztoical's message No 26 in this post: Thank you! Great to see the information I posted on the WorkplaceLaw.net forum (username Susan Hofgartner) being quoted on this forum. Businesses do have options other than having a service contractor coming on site, and that is thanks to the 7kg ruling (in England and Wales) from the Department of Health.

I follow many forums and message boards with posts about sanitary disposal and contribute to them my detailed knowledge about sanitary waste disposal gained whilst designing a new sanitary bin.

If anyone wants to ask me any questions via this forum, please do!

alexa5x5

I havent got any advice but I just wanted to say I pitty you sharing a toilet with so many men! Eugh!
I think the "scrunched up in toilet paper" idea is the best option.

Truley

alexa5x5 wrote: »

I havent got any advice but I just wanted to say I pitty you sharing a toilet with so many men! Eugh!

Really? Having worked as a cleaner for many, many years I can safely say women are far worse toilet users than men. I'm not the only one who thinks so.