Want to Reduce Waste While on Your Period? Use a Menstrual Cup!

By Alyssa Rinetti  

Have you ever stopped to thinkhowmuch waste humans are using on a yearly or, worse, a daily basis? If you have not, then you are in for a rude awakening! On average, Americans produce just under five pounds of trasheachday. If you look at how much waste a family uses each day, it is approximately 18 pounds – so double!  

When you look at these numbers and wonder how much waste humans accumulate yearly, just simply multiply both numbers mentioned above by 365 days (days in one year) to find out. The resulting number if you did the math correctly, comes out to be 1,642 pounds per person! That is a ton of waste from justone person!  

How does menstruation in women relate to reducing waste you may ask? By using UltuCup, you contribute to a cleaner and healthier planet. However, if one chooses to refrain from using an UltuCup, and chooses to use tampons and pads instead then these products cause: 

• Increase in Solid Waste: There are more than 3.7 billion women in the world alone. In one's lifetime, an individual on average will bleed around 2,500 days. Imagine how many utilized menstrual products asingle woman transmits to the landfill, streets, rivers, and oceans, etc.  
• Accumulation of Toxic Waste: Plastic that is found in tampons and pads ultimately takes 500 years to break down. Just think – your menstrual waste will survive 400+ years on Earth (you most likely will not be alive)! 

How Will Using an UltuCup Reduce Waste? 

There are many questions individuals may ask themselves regularly when that time of the month arrives. Questions such as, "but how long will my period cup last?", and "how will a product that is made from silicone reduce waste on our planet? I'm sure regular period protective materials will be just as effective!". 

While this may be true to some degree, using an UltuCup will help reduce waste because you will not have to change it out as often. If you were wearing a tampon, pad, or something else of the like, well, then that is a different story because those need to be swapped out every 4-6 hours! Should you choose to wear an UltuCup then you will only need to change it out every 12 hours and then you can reinsert your cup. 

When we think about the correlation between waste reduction and menstrual cups, here are some ways that UltuCup can help reduce waste in Earth's environment:  

How Long Does a Period Cup Last? 

One period cup contains an estimated 0.4% of plastic waste that single-use pads alone build up to have. In relation, tampons are made up of 6% of plastic waste if we look at a span of 10 years for each product.  

Period cups, like UltuCup, are made from medical-grade materials and are good for 5-10 years (or even longer)! This depends on the quality of the materials and how it's been stowed. Cheaper brands, like Diva Cup, may contain filler in the silicone, affecting how long they last. 

If Your Cup is Stained, Should You Replace It?  

Absolutely not! A stained cup is still functional. Instead of tossing it out and reaching for a new period cup, you should try a hydrogen peroxide solution that has at least 3% of hydrogen peroxide in it.  

Soak your menstrual cup for about 2-3 hours max and watch your period cup return to its authentic color or clear! 

How to Prolong the Life of Your Menstrual Cup 

Always store your period cup between your cycles in a breathable pouch or storage space! Nearly all period cups are sold with a storage pouch, however, your if cup did not come with a pouch then you can purchase one.  

The pouch just needs to be cotton, linen, or another breathable type of fabric. On that note, you never want to stow your cup in a closed plastic container or bag. Plastic material will prevent your period cup from breathing and may shorten the lifespan of your period cup.  

Also, a quick note, if you have pets then its recommend to put your cup in a drawer or somewhere out of reach – dogsespecially love to use cups as chew toys!  

Why Making The Switch Will Be The Right Decision 

If individuals start using UltuCup instead of tampons or pads, thinking about how little one must change out their UltuCup, and how much of a time-saver using period cups will be, will reducehowmuch plastic will be utilized on our planet in the long run. It is now up to you to decide if you would like to help reduce waste on our planet. Go ahead, make the right decision by switching to UltuCup today!