Stirling Council has taken forward requests raised by the Boys Need Bins Campaign, led by organisations including Prostate Cancer UK and Bladder Health UK. The campaign highlights a need for public facilities to offer discreet and sanitary ways for men to dispose of hygiene products.
Currently, while it is a legal requirement to provide hygiene bins in female public restrooms, similar legislation does not cover the same facilities for men.
Following the decision taken at a recent Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee (7 November), the 17 council operated toilets across Stirling will have sanitary bins installed for men as well as women.
'A simple measure'
Community Wellbeing and Housing Convener, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “Adopting the aims of the Boys Need Bins campaign ensures that we’re providing equal access for men to bins to discreetly dispose of hygiene products.
“Men in our communities who wear stoma bags or live with incontinence are entitled to the dignity provided by these hygiene bins. Providing male hygiene bins will also offer an environmental benefit as a practical solution to inappropriate waste disposal.
“This is a simple measure which will provide some welcome relief to men who find themselves caught short.”
Nick Ridgman, Head of Support Services at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “A man living with incontinence shouldn’t have to worry that he might have to carry around his own used pads when he’s out of the house, just because he can’t be sure he’ll be able to access a sanitary bin to dispose of it hygienically.
“But for the hundreds of thousands of men living with incontinence in the UK, this is their reality. Their lives are being limited by the taboo surrounding male incontinence, and the anxiety caused by a lack of basic facilities in men’s toilets.
"We're delighted that Stirling Council is backing our Boys Need Bins campaign by introducing sanitary bins in men's loos throughout Stirling. While we eventually want laws to change so that all men have access to a bin, in the meantime it's exciting that real change is happening across Scotland and the rest of the UK as our campaign continues."