Illustration by Kagan McLeod

8. WASHABLE MENSTRUAL PADS
If you’re typical (and a woman), you will dispose of about 10,000 pads and tampons before the hot flashes hit. Why not switch to washable pads?
I use a lot of toilet paper, too, but I’m not about to hang it out to dry.
Fifteen billion pads and tampons a year is a lot of landfill.
At a third of an ounce per pad, it’s a mere 404 million pounds a year, out of a total solid-waste burden of 496 billion pounds.
What about the tens of thousands of applicators that litter our beaches each year or the dioxin used to bleach and soften the fibers? What about toxic-shock syndrome? The healthiest thing for your body and the environment is this diaphragm-like thingie. You can wear it all day, empty in the toilet—
Yeah, and rinse it out in the sink next to your boss while she fixes her mascara?
You can wait till you get home.
I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.

VERDICT: A personal matter. But the cup thing kind of makes sense if you can get over the gross-out factor.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Table of Contents: Jun 18, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!