Students Invent Eco-Friendly Sanitary Pads, Win A Cash Reward Worth Rs 75000!
In a country where most of the women don't use sanitary napkins during their period, it's ironical that sanitary napkins generate kilo-loads of non-degradable waste which pollutes our environment. Menstrual pollution is now an actual crisis which can be remedied only by treating it as a serious health issue.
According to a report by AC Nielsen, only 12% of India’s 355 million menstruating women use sanitary pads and the remaining choose alternatives like unsanitized cloth, newspaper, and husk sand. These pose a high-risk to women's health.
According to 'periodofchange', a campaign started under the 'Kachra' project, an average woman generates about 150 kg of non-biodegradable menstrual waste every year. Because ninety percent of napkins contain plastic, the waste generated leaves the environment choking.
In an effort to combat this environmental hazard from spreading further, two students Niveda R and Gowtham S, who are presently studying fashion technology at Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT), have invented eco-friendly sanitary napkins. For this, they have won the prestigious Chhatra Vishwakarma Award and India Innovation Initiative (i3) 2017.
They used the Kenaf fibre for their invention - a plant that is grown in 12 states across India. For their invention, the plant was grown in an area of 11 cents at their college campus as well, reports The Hindu.
The college said in a statement,
"It was first done for trial purpose as we learnt that the plant helps reduce green house gas.In the process we found that the plant requires very little water and fertilisers for cultivation. Further, the plant had good absorbing tendency, natural anti-microbial properties and resistance to mildew and rot."
To improve the usability of Kenaf fibre, the students extracted it from the plant and produced sanitary napkins that are completely biodegradable and leave no waste. The students won a cash prize of Rs. 75,000, i3–Icreate Award, and i3-SIDBI Start-UP Mitra award.
Kudos to them for coming up with such a sustainable solution. It's heart-warming and highly reassuring to see that the younger generation of our country is at least trying to undo the damage that has been done to the environment; This, while finding a solution of one of the most alarming health issues of our nation.
Original Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/students-invent-eco-friendly-sanitary-pads-win-a-cash-reward-worth-rs-75-000-335982.html
According to a report by AC Nielsen, only 12% of India’s 355 million menstruating women use sanitary pads and the remaining choose alternatives like unsanitized cloth, newspaper, and husk sand. These pose a high-risk to women's health.
According to 'periodofchange', a campaign started under the 'Kachra' project, an average woman generates about 150 kg of non-biodegradable menstrual waste every year. Because ninety percent of napkins contain plastic, the waste generated leaves the environment choking.
In an effort to combat this environmental hazard from spreading further, two students Niveda R and Gowtham S, who are presently studying fashion technology at Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT), have invented eco-friendly sanitary napkins. For this, they have won the prestigious Chhatra Vishwakarma Award and India Innovation Initiative (i3) 2017.
They used the Kenaf fibre for their invention - a plant that is grown in 12 states across India. For their invention, the plant was grown in an area of 11 cents at their college campus as well, reports The Hindu.
The college said in a statement,
"It was first done for trial purpose as we learnt that the plant helps reduce green house gas.In the process we found that the plant requires very little water and fertilisers for cultivation. Further, the plant had good absorbing tendency, natural anti-microbial properties and resistance to mildew and rot."
To improve the usability of Kenaf fibre, the students extracted it from the plant and produced sanitary napkins that are completely biodegradable and leave no waste. The students won a cash prize of Rs. 75,000, i3–Icreate Award, and i3-SIDBI Start-UP Mitra award.
Kudos to them for coming up with such a sustainable solution. It's heart-warming and highly reassuring to see that the younger generation of our country is at least trying to undo the damage that has been done to the environment; This, while finding a solution of one of the most alarming health issues of our nation.
Original Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/students-invent-eco-friendly-sanitary-pads-win-a-cash-reward-worth-rs-75-000-335982.html
Comments
Post a Comment