We’re doing our bit to tackle period poverty in Yorkshire by teaming up with social enterprise Hey Girls. Keep reading to find out more about what we’re doing.
What is period poverty?
Simply put, period poverty is a lack of access to period products. Shockingly 1 in 10 are affected by period poverty in the UK. Period products are expensive and for some it’s a choice between period products and other necessities, either leaving them without the right period products, without enough period products, or without any period products at all. It’s not unusual for those experiencing period poverty to miss school or work.
Why are Yorkshire Water focusing on period poverty?
Period products are one of the leading causes of blockages each year in Yorkshire and sit in the top 5 problem products alongside wipes, liquid fats, oils and greases.
39% of females have flushed a sanitary product down the toilet at least once. Unlike loo roll, tampons, and sanitary pads contain plastic and are designed to absorb large volumes of moisture. So, they don’t break down, instead they absorb sewage water and expand, getting caught up in fats, oils and greases and causing even bigger blockages.
Through our partnership with Hey Girls we’re able to provide education on alternatives to single use products. By handing out sustainable, reusable period products and having a space to talk about the problems caused by flushing single use products we hope to be able to reduce the number of blockages caused by period products.
What work are Yorkshire Water doing with Hey Girls?
We’re excited about our new education program focused on period health and wellbeing. From September 2024, we’ll be bringing this program to a number of secondary schools across the county. We’ll be talking to students about where to find period products, highlighting the benefits of choosing sustainable options and giving them the knowledge on how to use them. We’ll also be handing out free packs so students can try some reusable products at home – if they want to.
Hey Girls offer reusable, sustainable products like period pants, pads and cups. They’re washable so can be used over and over again and don’t need to be bought as often meaning they’re better for the environment and the pocket.
Our CEO, Nicola Shaw, said, “After running a successful pilot last year, the positive feedback from teachers and students inspired us to expand the program. We were shocked by how many school days were lost due to issues around period dignity and anxiety. By teaming up with Hey Girls, we’re introducing students to eco-friendly, reusable period products. This helps reduce the number of period products flushed away and potentially blocking our sewer system.”
Hey Girls operates on a buy-one, give-one principle. For every eco-friendly product purchased, they donate another one to those in need. Since their launch in 2018, they’ve given over 30 million period products to schools, youth groups, and shelters.
We’ve purchased 10,000 period starter packs, which include reusable pads and a biodegradable travel bag. Hey Girls will match this with an additional 10,000 packs, bringing our total to 20,000. Our education sessions will cover period health, product care, and alternatives to flushing single-use period products.
Kate Smith, Co-Founder and Director of Hey Girls, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with Yorkshire Water to promote period dignity and provide free period products to young people. Our goal is to tackle period poverty and reduce the number of students missing school because of their periods.”
Through this partnership, we hope to raise awareness about the proper disposal of period products as well as doing our bit to ease period poverty.
Rachel Lee, a governor at Crawshaw Academy, expressed her gratitude at having been involved in our pilot, “We’re really thankful to Yorkshire Water for this opportunity. Providing students with sustainable choices is crucial and ensures our PHSE curriculum stays relevant. We hope other schools will take advantage of this initiative.”
Some eye-opening facts about periods
- 49% of young people in the UK have missed a whole day of school because of their period.
- 22% have had to improvise with the products they use.
- 1 in 10 people in the UK face period poverty.
- Many students skip PE due to period anxiety.
- The Lionesses helped challenge period stigma, leading to dark shorts for their matches.
- Over 220 million non-sustainable period products are flushed away each year, which take a long time to break down.
- Period products expand in water and can cause problems for our sewage network.
- We manage 20,000 miles of pipework and are investing £252 million over the next 5 years to improve the network.
- Only paper, pee, and poo should be flushed—everything else, including period products, should be disposed of properly.
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