Council renews pledge to educate on sustainable period products
To celebrate Recycling Week and promote eco-conscious practices, Council has committed to continue the sustainable period products initiative delivered by ‘Waste-ED with Kate’ in our District’s colleges – Katikati and Te Puke.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, Council collaborated with Kate Fenwick from ‘Waste-Ed with Kate’ to destigmatise and normalise menstruation and promote reusable menstrual products in schools and local marae. Council-funded workshops include free reusable period products and a wealth of knowledge on how reusable menstrual products work to keep waste to landfill low and save users money in the long term.
Single-use period products are free in schools thanks to the Ministry of Education’s Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata - Period products in schools programme, however, schools need to opt into the service to provide the products for their students. At present, the government does not make any reusable options available to students. This programme fills a need for education, and creates the opportunity for students to try all available products.
To date, over 840 people have engaged in the Council-funded initiative and just under 2,000 reusable products have been distributed across the community.
Council’s Resource Recovery and Waste Lead, Ilze Kruis, is proud to see this initiative continue across the District.
“Our ongoing commitment to the initiative provides the opportunity to educate new students coming into high schools each year, and provide for a drop-in session for those students that may need a bit more information.
“By championing sustainable period products in local schools, we aim to educate and empower the community to make environmentally conscious decisions.
“Advocating for these alternatives in our schools and community is one of many steps we're taking in the hope of inspiring positive change in our community and reduce the environmental impact of sanitary waste."
Key resources:
- Waste-ed with Kate (https://wastedkate.co.nz/)
- More information on recycling week can be found at: https://www.reclaim.co.nz/recycling-week
