By Angelica Fraine ’23, staff writer
Over the course of the past few weeks, on-campus residents have begun to notice the disappearance of sanitary disposal boxes in the communal bathrooms of the dorms, leaving students with a unanimous question – why?
Sanitary disposal boxes are individual bins fitted with special paper liners that reside within bathroom stalls. These receptacles are meant for the disposal of used period products. By having sanitary disposal boxes available in public bathrooms, the concern of spreading or contracting harmful bacteria is essentially eliminated.
However, the system is only effective if used properly.
LVC facilities made the decision to begin removing these boxes from the dorms after realizing that period products were being put into the disposal boxes with little to no wrapping, rather than using the sanitized bags provided beside the boxes, raising concerns from staff regarding cleanliness and health.
“Our housekeepers were dealing with receptacles that just became a biohazard because of bloodborne pathogens,” Michael Mumper, executive director of facilities management, said.
He explained a large part of their reasoning came from routine cleanings of communal bathrooms. Housekeeping staff would find the linings of the sanitary disposal boxes to be folded over, or products fallen between the paper lining and the metal of the box. This caused direct contact with the soiled material.
“By eliminating the dispenser in the actual stall and providing the envelopes [that remain], it kind of forces people to need to put the item in the envelope and then take that bag to the trash can that is in the bathroom,” Mumper said.
A secondary reason stems from the paper liners within the disposal boxes being labeled as a “special order,” meaning the manufacturers will begin to phase out production of the products, making it difficult for LVC to get ahold of them.
The removal first began with the Funkhouser renovations, and disposal boxes were soon removed from Mary Green, Hammond, Silver and Vickroy Halls.
“We’re not taking any more out this semester,” Mumper said. “Eventually though, because of the phasing out of the dispenser arrangement from the manufacturers, we will be taking them out across campus.”
LVC’s facilities department is now working alongside student affairs to find a secondary solution to dispose of period products, as additional concerns have been raised about exposed products becoming piled up in the general trash cans.
The office of Student Affairs had not been made aware of the situation prior to the disposal box removals but encourages students to help offer any solutions while this process continues. The hope is that through careful collaboration between facilities and the student body, a new sanitary disposal system can be formed.