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Boys need bins: why men's toilets should have sanitary bins
It’s a common misconception that only women experience incontinence. This couldn’t be further from the truth. PHS Group carried out a report that revealed 51% of men surveyed had experienced symptoms associated with urinary incontinence. With 8 out of 10 of those men saying it left them feeling anxious to leave the house. With so many men experiencing incontinence, why aren’t there any facilities for them to dispose of their disposable incontinence products?
Currently, if you’re a male and need to dispose of a soiled incontinence item, you need to use a disabled toilet. But, why? It doesn’t seem fair that a substantial portion of the population is forced to use a disabled toilet just to dispose of their pads. You might be thinking “Well, just use the disabled loo then!” but it’s not that simple.
Incontinent men across the UK are forced to suffer
In an interview with the BBC, Jonathan Hall, a cancer survivor from Hampshire made the point perfectly:
"There's no facilities in the men's lavatories for the disposal of these pads unless you go into the disabled loo, and I'm not disabled, therefore I find it slightly objectionable.”
So you have a whole swathe of men in a bit of a pickle having to decide if they use the disabled toilets, despite not being disabled, or use the male toilets and have no disposal facilities.
When it comes to UK workplace legislation, Citron Hygiene says:
“All companies must provide an appropriate means of disposal for sanitary products in female washrooms. This can include providing sanitary bins and sanitary bags.”
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that women legally have access to sanitary bins in the workplace but the question remains, why not men too? I appreciate that there’s far more women out there using these facilities, more regularly too when you account for periods as well as incontinence items. But still, should it not be legislated that male toilets have the same disposal facilities?
Let's try to change the law
At the time of writing this, I have written to our local MP (Lucy Allan, Telford) to raise this issue. The aim is to get the legislation changed to afford both men and women equal access to sanitary bins in their respective toilets. At the very least I hope that we can shine a light on the subject and hopefully insight some positive change.
As of 29th September; Lucy Allan’s office replied stating:
“Thank you for your email to Lucy, who has read your points with interest. Employers are not prevented from including sanitary bins in male toilets on request and it may be that facilitating conversations between employers and employees could be more effective than a change in formal legislation. Lucy will also ensure to raise your points in discussions with her colleagues in Parliament.”
We disagree and don’t believe that just facilitating a conversation with an employer is satisfactory. So, we’re continuing to push for them to lead the charge in getting this outdated legislation changed. I will continue to update this section as and when we receive a response.
Boys need bins
Prostate Cancer UK is championing the ‘Boys Need Bins’ campaign. The intention is to get the very same legislation we mentioned above changed to help men across the nation. So far there have been over 2,200 letters sent to MPs, reaching 90% of MPs in the UK.
We are fully behind this campaign and will do what we can to raise awareness from our corner of the world.
Shining a light on issues facing men with incontinence
Here is the rest of the interview from the BBC with Mr Hall, it really shines a light on the issues facing incontinent men:
"The problem is we have a product we have to dispose of, and there's nowhere to put it. The simple act of going to the toilet has taken on a whole new meaning. There's no facilities in the men's lavatories for the disposal of these pads unless you go into the disabled loo, and I'm not disabled, therefore I find it slightly objectionable."
"It's something that needs to be addressed. There's close to half a million men who are suffering from some degree of incontinence, or issues down there that require the use of pads or bags.”
Mr Hall said his current solution was to take two pads with him, wrap one up in the other, and carry it around until he can find a bin.
"It's not necessarily the most hygienic way of doing it but it is the only way."
I will update this article if we receive a response from our local MP, or if we have to contact any other government bodies. In the meantime, you can find our range of bins below.
