People Divided At How To Dispose Of Period Products

A woman has sparked conversation online after she revealed she was stuck in an awkward situation while staying at her boyfriend’s.

Taking to Reddit’s r/TwoXChromosomes thread, the woman wrote: “It's unfortunately my time of the month. My boyfriend's parents are retired and only have sons.

“His mum is the only woman in the house and she's likely not had a period for many years, so I understand why they wouldn't have bathroom bins.

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“But what do I do with my pads/tampons? I don't use a moon cup. My bf says I should just speak to his mum about it, and she's very understanding so that's probably what I'll do.”

She continued: “But I was wondering how other people deal with this situation? What do you do when it's that time of the month and you're staying somewhere with no bathroom trash can? Wrap it up and put it in your pocket and throw it out somewhere else?? Is there a better solution to this?”

The debate sparked lots of comments, with people sharing how they dealt with similar situations.

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“I'd just ask her if they have a spare trashcan they could put in the bathroom while you're there,” one person said.

“I used to wrap my pads up and throw them away somewhere else when this would happen to me, but one day I decided I'd had enough and now I'll just ask people if I need a trashcan. Usually they seem to be more embarrassed about the situation than I am.”

A second person agreed: “This. Direct is best,” they said. “Ask the dad if you want. Don’t be ashamed. This coming from a step dad that has gone out and bought tampons in the middle of the night for my step kid’s friend who was sleeping over. Men are not freaked out by periods.”

Meanwhile, a third person said it was just strange not to have a bathroom bin for a number of reason.

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“Used tissues, toilet paper wrappers, wipes from cleaning the bathroom (either paper towels w/ bleach or clorox wipes), empty soap/shampoo/mouthwash/etc bottles...

Not having a trash can in a bathroom is not a reasonable thing. For anyone,” they said.

However, another person argued it wasn’t that weird to not have a bathroom bin.

“I don't get why this is such a big deal, I grew up without a bin in the bathroom and still don't have one in my own house,” they said. “Are y'alls houses so big It's too far to put it in the kitchen garbage? Or is it a cultural thing?

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“We have a bin built into the cupboard under the kitchen sink. It gets emptied and put in the main garbage outside. Used tissues don't just come from the bathroom, you can blow your nose anywhere in the house.

“I've never heard of clorox wipes, we use a reusable scrubbing brush, toilet brush, and squeegee that lives in the bathroom/toilet room for cleaning, and empty bottles get recycled with all the kitchen ones. My used pads (before I transitioned to period undies) were wrapped in TP and thrown in the normal garbage bin.”

Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, Life

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley