Sanitary bins to be installed in male toilets for prostate cancer charity’s Boys need Bins campaign
MALE toilets will have sanitary bins added at sites including country parks and libraries across Hampshire in a bid to support men suffering with urinary and bowel conditions.
As many as 69% of those treated with surgery for prostate cancer may experience urinary incontinence as a result and may need to use pads, pouches, stomas, catheters, colostomy or ileostomy bags.
To address this, more than 200 bins will be installed at facilities in county council-run buildings used by the public and staff for the Boys need Bins initiative by Prostate Cancer UK.
Cllr Russell Oppenheimer, cabinet member for countryside and regulatory services, said: “I’m pleased to confirm that county council buildings will now provide facilities for men to safely, and hygienically, dispose of incontinence products and other sanitary items.”
He added: “One in eight men will get prostate cancer, and some will experience urinary and bowel problems as a side effect of their treatment. As the Boys need Bins campaign has highlighted, it is important to tackle the taboos surrounding this issue and to understand the huge difference that small practical changes can make.
“By providing sanitary bins in male toilets, we can offer people dignity in managing with what has been an invisible, yet potentially embarrassing, problem. I know some organisations in Hampshire are already taking similar steps, and I urge others to consider doing the same so we can collectively drive positive change.”
The council will add the bins to the male toilets in its five country parks, libraries, outdoor centres, and offices used by staff.
There are already male toilet bins at several council visitor attractions including Sir Harold Hillier Gardens near Romsey.
Last September the council backed a motion to raise awareness of the diseases, which is the most common male cancer, which included backing a change in the law giving men access to sanitary bins in toilets.
