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Last Updated on November 17, 2022
Imagine you are at work, or any public setting, and you didn’t have the supplies, space or waste options you needed to simply go to the bathroom?
“Embarrassed.”
“Uncomfortable.”
“Unhygienic!”
86% of people who menstruate have gotten their period unexpectedly while out in public and are left without the proper facilities in commercial washrooms.
| No Menstrual Care Products | No Menstrual Waste Disposal | No Options |
Try Toilet Paper Risk embarrassment. | Flush products down the toilet Create plumbing blockages. | Panic Stop working or end the visit and go home. |
Menstruation is not going to go away. It’s here to stay, but the social expectations around menstruation are changing.
We’ve come a long way since the early days of human evolution, both in our biological menstruation cycles, and in our standards for personal and workplace hygiene.
Due to changes in life expectancy and better nutrition than menstruators of the past, scientists believe menstruators bleed more heavily nowadays than before, and that menopause doesn’t begin until about the age of 50 – unlike our ancestors of the 1800s, who reached menopause around the age of 40.
All this to say: menstruators bleed a lot for a long time, and more recently, the expectations around the provision of menstrual products and disposal solutions are now far ahead of the many inadequate facilities in commercial washrooms today.
The gap between menstrual hygiene needs and washroom realities is big – period.
Are your facilities, standards and provision of care up on par?
Do your washrooms provide the supplies, disposal services and hygienic units needed to protect your team, your visitors and customers?
Businesses have a duty of care and safety to ensure all those who menstruate can safely and hygienically dispose of menstrual hygiene products wherever they are.
Close the gap between hygiene needs and washroom realities. Keep reading to find out if your washroom meets today’s elevated hygiene expectations:
- Understand the evolution of menstrual hygiene standards
- Know what your employees and customers expect of your facilities today
- See how personal health and hygiene is social health and hygiene
- Discover what your options are for hygienic menstrual product disposal
The Evolution of Menstrual Hygiene Standards
Through the many periods of our collective history, we’ve handled menstruation and hygiene in a variety of ways – some of them being highly questionable by today’s standards.
There have been eras during which anyone menstruating was believed to be a sorceress, or times where those who are menstruating were required to isolate themselves until they stopped bleeding.
Thankfully, these days, we don’t require someone who is menstruating to go off and hide for a week every month (though some of us might like to do just that).
We have a better understanding of the biology of menstruation and are more aware of the needs of those who menstruate.
And we definitely have higher expectations around personal hygiene and workplace hygiene today than we did in the past.
But, unfortunately there is a dire lack of awareness, hygiene protocol, products and services to support those who are menstruating while out in public.
Then and now: the evolution of menstrual products
Our expectations of decent menstrual hygiene have most certainly evolved in recent years to meet sanitation standards worthy of the post-pandemic twenty-first century.
More eco-friendly products are being created, and menstrual hygiene products have been accepted as a necessary addition to every facility’s consumable products available to guests in public bathrooms.
In the same way that we provide soap and paper towels to each visitor who uses the washroom, facilities are expected to ensure that each individual who menstruates has access to the supplies required to attend to their needs with dignity. This includes providing the means to properly dispose of hygiene products – and to do so in a way that meets today’s infection prevention and control best practices.
What Do Your Employees and Customers Expect Today?
As mentioned above, society’s standards of hygiene have changed. The general public is more aware of infection prevention protocols and they have an increased fear of germs and infection.
Today, your customers expect the bathrooms they visit to be visibly clean, odorless, and definitely as free of germs as possible to prevent the spread of contagious infections and blood-borne pathogens.
Those who menstruate expect to have the supplies they need easily accessible, and to dispose of menstrual waste hygienically and discreetly.
Infection Prevention
Your average customers and employees expect your facilities to do their part to prevent the spread of contamination and infections.
According to a study cited by Harvard Health, proper sanitization and ventilation of washrooms can effectively limit the spread of viruses concentrated in aerosols (such as the spray, or plume, that erupts from toilets at each flush).
64% of Americans are so disgusted by the thought of touching things in a public washroom that they use their feet to flush the toilets and won’t touch the taps or door handles with their bare hands.
Dignity and Respect
Your employees, visitors and customers also expect to be able to menstruate with dignity, which includes free access to menstrual products, as well as options for safe and hygienic disposal of menstrual waste.
Similar to how most of us would not carry our used toilet paper out of the stall to dispose of it, menstruators do not want to carry their used products out of the stall to the garbage cans in the public areas of the washroom.
For the sake of your facilities (and your plumbing bills) you don’t want pads and tampons to be flushed down the toilet. In order to avoid this, your facility needs to have a conveniently located sanitary disposal system within a short arm’s reach of the toilet, where visitors can safely and easily dispose of their products.
You need something more appropriate for today’s high standards of personal and workplace hygiene than those bulky metal boxes affixed to your stall walls.
You need a sanitary disposal system that is clean, odorless, and touch-free. You need menstrual hygiene disposal containers that take up minimal space and are designed to match your washroom aesthetics.
You need Citron’s touch-free sanitary waste bins. Learn more about what’s included in our risk-free trial.
Benefits to staff as well as customers
Citron’s suite of professional washroom hygiene services ensures that you:
- Protect your staff and washroom visitors from blood-borne pathogens
- Never run out of consumable washroom and hygiene products
- Always meet your health and safety standards with clean, professional, on-time service
- Provide inclusive, dignified options for all
Add investing in sanitary waste services to your washroom maintenance checklist. If you want to learn more, you can request a virtual demo today. We offer a complementary risk-free trial of our products and services for one month.
Personal Health is Social Health
There are many benefits to hiring professional services to take care of your washroom sanitization.
It’s no secret that corporate and facility managers have more social responsibility today than they may have had in years past.
As the manager of facility services, you may need to consider how to ensure your company can be eco-friendly and socially inclusive while also ensuring staff know how to properly dispose of hygiene products. Added to that, you also need to make sure that you are able to provide controlled contamination services.
You have a lot on your plate!
Or, you can take a load off your own shoulders and hire a team of trained professionals who have built these values into their services.
Work with an expert vendor who can help you with choosing services and initiatives that have a positive impact on society and the environment through gender equality and inclusion, period dignity and sustainability.
At Citron Hygiene, we believe in creating equitable and inclusive washroom spaces for everyone. We will help you achieve a reputation as a socially responsible and socially progressive company through your washroom and hygiene products and services.
Your business has a duty of care to ensure all those who menstruate can safely and hygienically dispose of menstrual hygiene products wherever they are.
Don’t wait to create a healthy and safe space for the people who use your washrooms. Contact Citron to schedule a free facility hygiene consultation to see how your facility compares to today’s standards of social inclusion and public health and safety.
What Are My Options For Waste Disposal of Menstrual Products?
Citron Hygiene is the leading provider of touchless, odourless menstrual hygiene disposal units. You have options when you choose Citron as your washroom hygiene partner.
With Citron, you can rest assured that you will receive:
- Reliable on-time servicing so your consumables never run out
- A hassle free experience that anticipates your needs
- Restorative washroom deep cleaning
- Hand care hygiene services such as sanitizers and soaps
- Feminine hygiene product dispensers
- Touch free, regularly sanitized waste disposal bins
For an easy visual of the benefits and functions of menstrual waste disposal products, we’ve broken down the key benefits of personal hygiene disposal solutions that you can choose from when equipping your washrooms with essential supplies.
| Safe | Dignified |
Touch-free dispensers and waste bins to protect visitor’s hands from contact with dirty surfaces, controlling risk of contamination. Safe waste disposal in sanitized, sealed containers and professional removal of waste to protect visitors from blood-borne pathogens. | Menstrual products are available (free) for emergency use to any washroom visitor. Clean, dignified disposal options that allow visitors to dispose of their waste from the toilet. |
| Hygienic | Inclusive |
Your washrooms will be visually clean, which increases trust of your facility and satisfaction with your brand. Sealed containers reduce or eliminate odors in your washrooms. | Free products ensure that all visitors can access emergency products, regardless of funds. We offer inclusive disposal options so that products are available in every washroom, for any visitor. |
Not sure where to begin? Start a conversation with a Citron Hygiene Expert.
Washrooms may contain germs, but with Citron you can mitigate the spread of infections, control contamination, reduce the germs on touchpoints, and ensure that your facility is customer-ready and health and safety approved – faster, easier, and stress-free.
Here’s a look into how getting started with our service works:
- Reliable servicing: Citron Certified Technicians maintain each system on a predetermined schedule. All sanitary waste is removed discretely from the client’s premises.
- Guaranteed quality: Exclusive CitronSyncTM technology is your guarantee of service.
Request a personalized demo today, and let us show you how easy it can be to keep your washroom in great shape year round.
