Take a Tampon, Leave a Tampon
Posted on September 29, 2011
The McKendree Review
The problem with this campus (McKendree University) is the lack of feminine hygiene products. Young college women sometimes forget to bring such items with them or their “time” comes unexpectedly. This is when the tampon dispensers in the restrooms become saviors; unfortunately, the dispensers at McKendree are often empty.
How do we solve this problem? Complaining to the people in charge could work. However, given all the new things this year, menstruation is not the utmost concern in everybody’s minds. No one can blame them. It is hard for others to sympathize unless they have experienced firsthand the awkwardness of starting one’s “time” in the middle of the day and being unable to make it back to their apartment or dorm room. This is on top of cramps, bloating, and general crankiness.
This may seem like a problem for only the women at McKendree, but it is actually a problem for everyone. If a girl has to search for a tampon or hope someone has one on her, she might miss or be late to her class(es). This creates a distraction for the classroom and the overall learning environment and it creates a problem for the people on campus, who must deal with angry women without tampons.
It is time to find a solution. I suggest a Take-a-Tampon, Leave-a-Tampon policy, like the penny system at the gas station. It would involve putting unused tampons in a universal box in the girls’ restrooms. Let us lack tampons no longer!
MY THOUGHTS: How about families in the US who cannot afford to purchase tampons and other feminine care products such as those on food stamps? Though not the same problem as the young ladies are experiencing at this University, it reminds me that I must try and focus time and effort to draw attention to this issue. Does anyone have data on the impact the lack of hygiene supplies have on tweens and teens in the US?
Monday, October 03, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
My German Shepard just ate a used tampon
Reprinted from Just Answer.com
My German Shepard just ate a used tampon, I am about 95% sure of this. I came home to find the bathroom trash all over the living room. Everything that was in the trash was there (plastic applicator for tampon, shredded toliet paper) except for the tampon itself. He seems fine and the vet is closed. Should I take him in the morning or is this an emergency that cannot wait, or does he not need to go at all and just be watched?
Thanks
Answer
This is a fairly common object for dogs to swallow and most vets will have dealt with it a few times. My experience with larger dogs such as German shepherds is that they will usually get away with it and the tampon just pass straight through their intestinal tract. It helps that such objects are biodegradable.
MY ANSWER: Dispose of your tampons in a SCENSIBLES BAG!! The dog will never sniff out a tampon again in the trash.
But why do dogs eat tampons in the first place? Here's a good reply.
Before dogs were domesticated they hunted and killed their food in the wild. They haven't completely gotten rid of all their instinct from the wild. Your tampons have blood on them. Your dog probably thinks they are a food source.
Dogs are carnavors, they will eat almost anything that smells of blood.
Other comments:
Because they are dogs and you aren't disposing of them in such a way that the dogs can't get to them.
A dog could easily choke on a menstrual pad or a tampon. Try wrapping your used items up tightly in toilet paper, place them in a sealed bag of some sort to keep the dog from smelling them, and take the bag out to trash can as soon as you can.
My Great Dane was sitting in the middle of the living room. I could tell something was in his mouth. I went over and looked he had a string hanging out of his mouth. I pulled it and ..... You guessed it. Its totally normal part of living with pets.
My German Shepard just ate a used tampon, I am about 95% sure of this. I came home to find the bathroom trash all over the living room. Everything that was in the trash was there (plastic applicator for tampon, shredded toliet paper) except for the tampon itself. He seems fine and the vet is closed. Should I take him in the morning or is this an emergency that cannot wait, or does he not need to go at all and just be watched?
Thanks
Answer
This is a fairly common object for dogs to swallow and most vets will have dealt with it a few times. My experience with larger dogs such as German shepherds is that they will usually get away with it and the tampon just pass straight through their intestinal tract. It helps that such objects are biodegradable.
MY ANSWER: Dispose of your tampons in a SCENSIBLES BAG!! The dog will never sniff out a tampon again in the trash.
But why do dogs eat tampons in the first place? Here's a good reply.
Before dogs were domesticated they hunted and killed their food in the wild. They haven't completely gotten rid of all their instinct from the wild. Your tampons have blood on them. Your dog probably thinks they are a food source.
Dogs are carnavors, they will eat almost anything that smells of blood.
Other comments:
Because they are dogs and you aren't disposing of them in such a way that the dogs can't get to them.
A dog could easily choke on a menstrual pad or a tampon. Try wrapping your used items up tightly in toilet paper, place them in a sealed bag of some sort to keep the dog from smelling them, and take the bag out to trash can as soon as you can.
My Great Dane was sitting in the middle of the living room. I could tell something was in his mouth. I went over and looked he had a string hanging out of his mouth. I pulled it and ..... You guessed it. Its totally normal part of living with pets.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Feminine hygiene marketing doesn’t skirt the issue
Feminine hygiene marketing doesn’t skirt the issue
September 16, 2011 |
Celebrities are gabbing about it openly. A growing number of grooming products cater to it. And a recent TV commercial hails it as “the cradle of life” and “the centre of civilization.”
The vagina is becoming big business.
A generation that grew up with more graphic language and sexual images in the media is forgoing the decades-old practice of tiptoeing around female genitalia in favour of more open dialogue about it. To reach digital-age 20- and 30-somethings, who also have shortened attention spans, marketers are using ads that are edgier, more frank and sometimes downright shocking.
“Gen Y people are more relaxed about their bodies, so there’s more attention to products that people would have been embarrassed to talk about before,” said Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business. “It’s part of this trend of women saying, ‘Hey, we’re not embarrassed to talk about this.”
The new freedom to talk about the vagina comes as marketers spend more to get women to buy products for the area. Ad spending for feminine hygiene products, including tampons, panty liners and cleansers, was up nearly 30% to US$218.9 million in 2010 from two years ago, according to Kantar Media.
Pop culture also has a lot to do with Americans’ – and companies’ – increased comfort with women’s nether regions. The term “vajayjay” became popular after media mogul Oprah Winfrey began using it on TV in 2007. Last month, actress Olivia Wilde, who stars on the Fox TV series “House,” described her favourite vagina tattoo on TBS’s Conan.
“I am about to pass out,” Conan said.
The openness has spawned an industry of products and services. “Vajazzling” – gluing on sparkly gems such as Swarovski crystals to jazz up a bikini wax – became a phenomenon last year when actress Jennifer Love Hewitt mentioned it on the former TBS talk show Lopez Tonight. It’s now a popular service offered by some salons across the country. For instance, the Brazil Bronze Glow Bar spa in New York, charges $25 for house designs like a butterfly, dragon and heart, and up to $100 for custom-made designs.
Big consumer products companies also are rolling out products for the vagina and using frank-talking ad campaigns to pitch them.
Energizer in 2009 introduced the Schick Quattro Trimstyle Razor, which has a bikini trimmer on one side. An ad for the product, which first aired in Europe and shows women dancing to a catchy song called “Mow the Lawn” as they trim hedges, became a viral hit online.
Kimberly-Clark makes fun of stereotypically touchy-feely feminine products ads in its campaign for a new line of pads and tampons introduced last year and put them in brightly coloured packaging.
In July, the company introduced a designer series that includes pads with flowers, polka dots and stripes printed on them and a limited edition pad and tampon carrying case designed by Sex and the City TV series stylist Patricia Field. An accompanying online campaign called “BanTheBland.com,” allows users to design their own pads using bright colours and patterns; winning patterns will be manufactured and sold for a limited time.
“There’s a lot of pressure these days for ads to go viral,” said Brian Steinberg, TV editor at trade publication Advertising Age. “If you want a viral pickup you have to be a little eyebrow raising.”
Some companies have stumbled over the line between provocative and offensive. In July, Fleet Laboratories, which makes the Summer’s Eve feminine products, has had mixed success with its “Hail to the V” campaign to market its cleansing products.
One 60-second TV ad touts the “power of the ‘V.’” It shows men throughout history battling each other while a voiceover says, “Over the ages and throughout the world, men have fought for it” and “it’s the centre of civilization.” The ad then cuts to a modern day woman standing next to a shopping aisle of Summer’s Eve products and the voiceover says, “So ladies, show it a little love.”
But another series of ads, which showed people of different races’ hands as puppets appearing to talk as though they were a vagina, was deemed racially insensitive and pulled from the air. The company apologized.
Rhonda Zahnen, a principal at The Richards Group, which created the ads, said despite the controversy, the company was pleased with the overall reaction to the campaign. She noted that about 25,000 have correctly completed its Summer’s Eve’s online “ID the V” body awareness quiz.
Originally published by MarketingMag.ca on September 16, 2011
.
.
Copyright © 1996-2011 by Rogers Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
September 16, 2011 |
Celebrities are gabbing about it openly. A growing number of grooming products cater to it. And a recent TV commercial hails it as “the cradle of life” and “the centre of civilization.”
The vagina is becoming big business.
A generation that grew up with more graphic language and sexual images in the media is forgoing the decades-old practice of tiptoeing around female genitalia in favour of more open dialogue about it. To reach digital-age 20- and 30-somethings, who also have shortened attention spans, marketers are using ads that are edgier, more frank and sometimes downright shocking.
“Gen Y people are more relaxed about their bodies, so there’s more attention to products that people would have been embarrassed to talk about before,” said Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business. “It’s part of this trend of women saying, ‘Hey, we’re not embarrassed to talk about this.”
The new freedom to talk about the vagina comes as marketers spend more to get women to buy products for the area. Ad spending for feminine hygiene products, including tampons, panty liners and cleansers, was up nearly 30% to US$218.9 million in 2010 from two years ago, according to Kantar Media.
Pop culture also has a lot to do with Americans’ – and companies’ – increased comfort with women’s nether regions. The term “vajayjay” became popular after media mogul Oprah Winfrey began using it on TV in 2007. Last month, actress Olivia Wilde, who stars on the Fox TV series “House,” described her favourite vagina tattoo on TBS’s Conan.
“I am about to pass out,” Conan said.
The openness has spawned an industry of products and services. “Vajazzling” – gluing on sparkly gems such as Swarovski crystals to jazz up a bikini wax – became a phenomenon last year when actress Jennifer Love Hewitt mentioned it on the former TBS talk show Lopez Tonight. It’s now a popular service offered by some salons across the country. For instance, the Brazil Bronze Glow Bar spa in New York, charges $25 for house designs like a butterfly, dragon and heart, and up to $100 for custom-made designs.
Big consumer products companies also are rolling out products for the vagina and using frank-talking ad campaigns to pitch them.
Energizer in 2009 introduced the Schick Quattro Trimstyle Razor, which has a bikini trimmer on one side. An ad for the product, which first aired in Europe and shows women dancing to a catchy song called “Mow the Lawn” as they trim hedges, became a viral hit online.
Kimberly-Clark makes fun of stereotypically touchy-feely feminine products ads in its campaign for a new line of pads and tampons introduced last year and put them in brightly coloured packaging.
In July, the company introduced a designer series that includes pads with flowers, polka dots and stripes printed on them and a limited edition pad and tampon carrying case designed by Sex and the City TV series stylist Patricia Field. An accompanying online campaign called “BanTheBland.com,” allows users to design their own pads using bright colours and patterns; winning patterns will be manufactured and sold for a limited time.
“There’s a lot of pressure these days for ads to go viral,” said Brian Steinberg, TV editor at trade publication Advertising Age. “If you want a viral pickup you have to be a little eyebrow raising.”
Some companies have stumbled over the line between provocative and offensive. In July, Fleet Laboratories, which makes the Summer’s Eve feminine products, has had mixed success with its “Hail to the V” campaign to market its cleansing products.
One 60-second TV ad touts the “power of the ‘V.’” It shows men throughout history battling each other while a voiceover says, “Over the ages and throughout the world, men have fought for it” and “it’s the centre of civilization.” The ad then cuts to a modern day woman standing next to a shopping aisle of Summer’s Eve products and the voiceover says, “So ladies, show it a little love.”
But another series of ads, which showed people of different races’ hands as puppets appearing to talk as though they were a vagina, was deemed racially insensitive and pulled from the air. The company apologized.
Rhonda Zahnen, a principal at The Richards Group, which created the ads, said despite the controversy, the company was pleased with the overall reaction to the campaign. She noted that about 25,000 have correctly completed its Summer’s Eve’s online “ID the V” body awareness quiz.
Originally published by MarketingMag.ca on September 16, 2011
.
.
Copyright © 1996-2011 by Rogers Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Do people understand that treated wastewater is returned to the environment?
In the United Kingdom
North East householders urged to look after sewers
by Michael Brown, The Journal
Aug 23 2011
HoUSEHOLDERS are being encouraged to play their part in helping to look after the region's sewers. The pipe network takes away the waste of 2.6 million people in the North East so it can be treated, before the cleaned water is safely returned to the environment.
Currently, water company Northumbrian Water manages 16,000km of sewers. But, from October 1 this year, around another 13,500km of drains, which were previously the responsibility of residents, will also fall under their control.
Ahead of the changes, which every customer will be notified about by letter, the firm is urging people to think twice about what they flush or tip down the sink.
A spokesman for Northumbrian Water, Alistair Baker, said sewers were a vital artery for a clean, healthy life and it’s in everyone’s interests to look after them.
“Blockages in sewers cause homes to flood and damage the environment, and North East bathroom habits are rubbish – literally,” he said.
“They are among the worst in the country for using the toilet as a rubbish bin, flushing items, especially sanitary-related products, which can end up on the region’s beaches.
“Disposable products such as tampons, sanitary towels, nappies, wet wipes, toilet roll tubes, cotton buds and condoms should be put in a bin and not flushed down the toilet.”
The water company spends hundreds of thousands of pounds a year screening debris out of the sewer network, and sends 9,000 tonnes of sewage-related rubbish to landfill every year from its 437 sewage treatment works.
So, as customers ultimately pay the costs, the company say it’s in everyone’s interest “to bag it and bin it”.
But it is not just bathroom waste that causes a problem – fats and grease also clog the water network’s vital arteries.
Every day, people and businesses pour hundreds of litres of cooking oil and roasting juices down the sink.
The fat cools, hardens and builds up on the walls of the sewer pipe, eventually blocking it.
However, on October 1 not all pipes will transfer. Householders, landlords and businesses will still remain responsible for private drains serving their property within its boundary, as well as gutters and down pipes.
The pipes that will transfer from private to water company ownership are those outside the boundary or those within the boundary which are shared by other properties and which connect into the existing public sewer, often located underneath the road outside.
The transfer will be automatic and customers do not need to take any action.
Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2011/08/23/sewer-plea-as-rules-change-61634-29283393/#ixzz1W3aYxS9H
North East householders urged to look after sewers
by Michael Brown, The Journal
Aug 23 2011
HoUSEHOLDERS are being encouraged to play their part in helping to look after the region's sewers. The pipe network takes away the waste of 2.6 million people in the North East so it can be treated, before the cleaned water is safely returned to the environment.
Currently, water company Northumbrian Water manages 16,000km of sewers. But, from October 1 this year, around another 13,500km of drains, which were previously the responsibility of residents, will also fall under their control.
Ahead of the changes, which every customer will be notified about by letter, the firm is urging people to think twice about what they flush or tip down the sink.
A spokesman for Northumbrian Water, Alistair Baker, said sewers were a vital artery for a clean, healthy life and it’s in everyone’s interests to look after them.
“Blockages in sewers cause homes to flood and damage the environment, and North East bathroom habits are rubbish – literally,” he said.
“They are among the worst in the country for using the toilet as a rubbish bin, flushing items, especially sanitary-related products, which can end up on the region’s beaches.
“Disposable products such as tampons, sanitary towels, nappies, wet wipes, toilet roll tubes, cotton buds and condoms should be put in a bin and not flushed down the toilet.”
The water company spends hundreds of thousands of pounds a year screening debris out of the sewer network, and sends 9,000 tonnes of sewage-related rubbish to landfill every year from its 437 sewage treatment works.
So, as customers ultimately pay the costs, the company say it’s in everyone’s interest “to bag it and bin it”.
But it is not just bathroom waste that causes a problem – fats and grease also clog the water network’s vital arteries.
Every day, people and businesses pour hundreds of litres of cooking oil and roasting juices down the sink.
The fat cools, hardens and builds up on the walls of the sewer pipe, eventually blocking it.
However, on October 1 not all pipes will transfer. Householders, landlords and businesses will still remain responsible for private drains serving their property within its boundary, as well as gutters and down pipes.
The pipes that will transfer from private to water company ownership are those outside the boundary or those within the boundary which are shared by other properties and which connect into the existing public sewer, often located underneath the road outside.
The transfer will be automatic and customers do not need to take any action.
Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2011/08/23/sewer-plea-as-rules-change-61634-29283393/#ixzz1W3aYxS9H
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tampon applicators common on beach
Found on the beach in Carlsbad, California
Do not flush anything but toilet paper and human waste down the toilet! Trash like this can end up in our oceans, rivers and lakes.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
'Don't flush it, bin it' call to help keep beaches clear of debris
DANGEROUS: Bathroom-related rubbish found on beaches can include cotton bud sticks, razor blades and even syringes
THROWAWAY attitudes can lead to South Devon's beaches being polluted with household waste.
The British public are putting far more down their toilets than they should be and the result is some beaches have unsavoury items like cotton buds, condoms, sanitary towels and tampon applicators, says the Marine Conservation Society in publishing a beachwatch survey.
In South Devon eight volunteers surveyed 32 metres of beach at Churston Cove and 17 covered 1,800 metres of Dawlish Warren national nature reserve.
Beachwatch officer Lauren Davis says the survey nationally reveals a shocking picture of what people do in the privacy of their own bathroom.
She said: "But sewerage networks and waste water treatment works are not specifically designed to remove these sorts of items and unfortunately more and more are ending up in our rivers and then on our beaches."
The conservation charity's call for items to be binned rather than flushed is backed by Torbay Council and South West Water.
A Torbay Council spokesman said: "We support any efforts to encourage people not to flush items down the toilet that can cause problems in sewerage networks and water treatment works.
"We go to great lengths to ensure that the Bay's beaches are clean and tidy, with our beach teams working hard to keep them looking their best.
"Torbay has some of the cleanest bathing waters in the country and is currently top of the league table, alongside Isle of Wight, with a record 14 Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards which recognise beaches that are clean, attractive and well managed."
The council says all the main beaches are cleaned manually every day throughout the summer bathing season, and a rota of mechanical cleaning is gradually increased as the season progresses.
"The smaller beaches are regularly checked and cleaned as required. Not all the smaller beaches are the responsibility of Torbay council.
"It is now very rare that any bathroom-related debris is found on our beaches."
The situation greatly improved when South West Water modernised the sewerage system, which was already screened to remove unsavoury items.
South West Water said: "We spend around £1 million a year clearing blockages caused by people flushing everything from cotton buds and nappies to bandages, plasters, razor blades, needles and syringes.
"The sewerage network is not designed to cope with these items, and flushing them can cause flooding and blockages."
Although modern sewerage systems like Brokenbury in Torbay screen out these items they can still end up on beaches if a house has a wrong connection to a surface water drain.
It says combined sewer overflows which operate in heavy rain to protect property from sewage flooding, also discharge into the sea or watercourses but also have screens which would remove the majority of these items.
The spokesman said: "Plastic items, such as cotton bud sticks, take a long time to break down in the environment unless they are physically removed."
Nationally the beachwatch survey shows that last year average litter levels increased by six per cent, with a rise of more than 40 per cent in sewage related debris.
Only two regions – Northern Ireland and the North West – saw a decrease in the amount of bathroom waste found on beaches, while the largest increase was in the North East, with a 230 per cent increase followed by Wales with a 110 per cent rise.
DANGEROUS: Bathroom-related rubbish found on beaches can include cotton bud sticks, razor blades and even syringes
THROWAWAY attitudes can lead to South Devon's beaches being polluted with household waste.
The British public are putting far more down their toilets than they should be and the result is some beaches have unsavoury items like cotton buds, condoms, sanitary towels and tampon applicators, says the Marine Conservation Society in publishing a beachwatch survey.
In South Devon eight volunteers surveyed 32 metres of beach at Churston Cove and 17 covered 1,800 metres of Dawlish Warren national nature reserve.
Beachwatch officer Lauren Davis says the survey nationally reveals a shocking picture of what people do in the privacy of their own bathroom.
She said: "But sewerage networks and waste water treatment works are not specifically designed to remove these sorts of items and unfortunately more and more are ending up in our rivers and then on our beaches."
The conservation charity's call for items to be binned rather than flushed is backed by Torbay Council and South West Water.
A Torbay Council spokesman said: "We support any efforts to encourage people not to flush items down the toilet that can cause problems in sewerage networks and water treatment works.
"We go to great lengths to ensure that the Bay's beaches are clean and tidy, with our beach teams working hard to keep them looking their best.
"Torbay has some of the cleanest bathing waters in the country and is currently top of the league table, alongside Isle of Wight, with a record 14 Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards which recognise beaches that are clean, attractive and well managed."
The council says all the main beaches are cleaned manually every day throughout the summer bathing season, and a rota of mechanical cleaning is gradually increased as the season progresses.
"The smaller beaches are regularly checked and cleaned as required. Not all the smaller beaches are the responsibility of Torbay council.
"It is now very rare that any bathroom-related debris is found on our beaches."
The situation greatly improved when South West Water modernised the sewerage system, which was already screened to remove unsavoury items.
South West Water said: "We spend around £1 million a year clearing blockages caused by people flushing everything from cotton buds and nappies to bandages, plasters, razor blades, needles and syringes.
"The sewerage network is not designed to cope with these items, and flushing them can cause flooding and blockages."
Although modern sewerage systems like Brokenbury in Torbay screen out these items they can still end up on beaches if a house has a wrong connection to a surface water drain.
It says combined sewer overflows which operate in heavy rain to protect property from sewage flooding, also discharge into the sea or watercourses but also have screens which would remove the majority of these items.
The spokesman said: "Plastic items, such as cotton bud sticks, take a long time to break down in the environment unless they are physically removed."
Nationally the beachwatch survey shows that last year average litter levels increased by six per cent, with a rise of more than 40 per cent in sewage related debris.
Only two regions – Northern Ireland and the North West – saw a decrease in the amount of bathroom waste found on beaches, while the largest increase was in the North East, with a 230 per cent increase followed by Wales with a 110 per cent rise.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Huge rise in bathroom rubbish on UK beachesMarine Conservation Society urges public not to use toilet as a bin, after cotton buds and condoms make ret
The amount of bathroom rubbish spread over Britain's shoreline has risen by an average of 40% in the past year, a survey has found.
Cotton buds, condoms, sanitary towels and tampon applicators were among the items recovered at the Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch Big Weekend last September. Overall there was a 6% increase in average litter levels on Britain's beaches compared with a similar survey in 2010.
Marine Conservation Society beachwatch officer, Lauren Davis, urged people to stop using their toilet as a "wet bin". She said: "[Bathroom rubbish] is being flushed away with an 'out of sight, out of mind' perception. But sewerage networks and waste water treatment works are not designed to remove these sort of items and, unfortunately, more and more are ending up in our rivers and beaches."
Almost 5,000 volunteers cleaned 376 beaches across the UK for the Big Weekend, covering a total of 167km. Over 330,000 items of litter were collected; 7% of it was bathroom waste, which included almost 16,000 cotton buds.
Only the north-west of the UK and Northern Ireland saw a decrease in the amount of bathroom rubbish found on beaches compared with the previous year. The largest increases were in the north-east, where levels tripled, and Wales, where they doubled.
UK water companies backed the Marine Conservation Society's push for people to stop flushing rubbish. Edmund Bramley, Yorkshire Water's environmental regulation manager, said: "We support the Marine Conservation Society's call for people to dispose of bathroom waste responsibly, by placing it in the bin, rather than flushing it down the toilet. By flushing things like baby wipes, cotton buds or nappies down toilets, people can end up causing damage both to their homes and the environment."
Hugo Tagholm, director of the clean water campaign Surfers Against Sewage, said: "We of course see this first-hand on lots of beaches around the UK, and it's unfortunately no huge surprise to us. It's worrying to see the continuing trend of increasing litter on our coastline, and it's something we're actively tackling with our nationwide supporter and membership base."
Printable versionSend to a friendShareClipContact us larger | smaller EnvironmentPollution · Waste · Coastlines · Marine life UK newsMore news
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Drop in England's 'blue flag' beaches
7 May 2009
England's blue flag beaches 2009
8 Apr 2009
Marine Litter: 'Plastic is the main problem, it take hundreds of years to degrade'
8 Apr 2009
British beach litter levels highest on record
Printable versionSend to a friendShareClipContact usArticle history
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About this articleClose Huge rise in bathroom rubbish on UK beachesThis article was published on guardian.co.uk at 07.00 BST on Thursday 21 April 2011. It was last modified at 07.00 BST on Thursday 21 April 2011. It was first published at 12.06 BST on Wednesday 20 April 2011.
Cotton buds, condoms, sanitary towels and tampon applicators were among the items recovered at the Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch Big Weekend last September. Overall there was a 6% increase in average litter levels on Britain's beaches compared with a similar survey in 2010.
Marine Conservation Society beachwatch officer, Lauren Davis, urged people to stop using their toilet as a "wet bin". She said: "[Bathroom rubbish] is being flushed away with an 'out of sight, out of mind' perception. But sewerage networks and waste water treatment works are not designed to remove these sort of items and, unfortunately, more and more are ending up in our rivers and beaches."
Almost 5,000 volunteers cleaned 376 beaches across the UK for the Big Weekend, covering a total of 167km. Over 330,000 items of litter were collected; 7% of it was bathroom waste, which included almost 16,000 cotton buds.
Only the north-west of the UK and Northern Ireland saw a decrease in the amount of bathroom rubbish found on beaches compared with the previous year. The largest increases were in the north-east, where levels tripled, and Wales, where they doubled.
UK water companies backed the Marine Conservation Society's push for people to stop flushing rubbish. Edmund Bramley, Yorkshire Water's environmental regulation manager, said: "We support the Marine Conservation Society's call for people to dispose of bathroom waste responsibly, by placing it in the bin, rather than flushing it down the toilet. By flushing things like baby wipes, cotton buds or nappies down toilets, people can end up causing damage both to their homes and the environment."
Hugo Tagholm, director of the clean water campaign Surfers Against Sewage, said: "We of course see this first-hand on lots of beaches around the UK, and it's unfortunately no huge surprise to us. It's worrying to see the continuing trend of increasing litter on our coastline, and it's something we're actively tackling with our nationwide supporter and membership base."
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About this articleClose Huge rise in bathroom rubbish on UK beachesThis article was published on guardian.co.uk at 07.00 BST on Thursday 21 April 2011. It was last modified at 07.00 BST on Thursday 21 April 2011. It was first published at 12.06 BST on Wednesday 20 April 2011.
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