Menstrual Waste Management 

The internal Hackathon “Menstrual Waste Management” Telangana State Innovation Cell, ITE&C Department, Government of Telangana In Collaboration with WaterAid was organized by Dept. of CSE on 23rd May, 2022. The program began with the introduction for Menstrual Waste Management.  Also, we explained the selection criteria/Judging Process.

 About the Hackathon

The Hackathon aims to find solutions for treatment and disposal of used menstrual absorbents in a manner that is safe for the users (girls and women), environment friendly and can be up-scaled within current waste management systems and processes. This hackathon aims at finding answers to challenges of menstrual waste management at household level, community level (village/ habitation/ basthi etc.) and at institution level (schools, Anganwadi Centers, healthcare facilities etc.). Apart from innovative technologies to address the issue, the hackathon looks forward to finding end to end solutions for menstrual waste management in both urban and rural contexts.

Participation Criteria:

 ● Students can join as an individual or as a team with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3.

● Team should have at least one woman participant

● The participation in the Hackathon is free for all.

Problem Statements-Sub themes

Problem Statements:

Safe management of menstrual waste is critical for adolescent health and hygiene. When girls lack proper disposal facilities, they may use pads for a longer duration which increases risk for infection. Poor management of menstrual waste (e.g. open dumping, burning etc.) also results in environment pollution. Most sanitary pad varieties used are made of cellulose, super absorbent polymers (SAP), plastic covering and adhesives/glues. Many of these components do not decompose easily and remain in the environment. When sanitary pads are burned in low temperatures, they release toxic chemicals that are harmful for health.

Themes: All the participants are allowed to choose any one the below categories:

·         Category 1: Technology solutions that promote efficient and environmentally safe solutions for menstrual waste (preference for non-burn/non-incinerator solutions)

·         Category 2: Product solutions (alternative menstrual products that reduce volume of waste)

·         Category 3: Systems and processes for safe and effective menstrual waste management

o   Safe disposal and waste segregation at source /user level (household, institutional, worksites, public toilets etc)

o   Safe collection, segregation and transportation of menstrual waste for final treatment by waste collectors/sanitation workers, and through gram panchayat, urban local bodies

The program continued with the presentation of all teams. Each team was given 15 minutes for each problem statement. The presentation was divided into 3 parts,

                      i.        Team introduction

                     ii.        Problem statement and solution explanation

                    iii.        Counters and suggestions by the jury members.

The teams were energetic and enthusiastic for the hackathon they came up with innovative and interesting solutions for the problem statements.

Jury members congratulated all the team members and gave them best wishes for the next level.