Student Research Reports
MAKINGBIODEGRADABLESANITARYPADSUSINGCOCONUT
Organization(s):Shree Swaminnarayan Academy
Country:Kenya
Student(s):NASIHAHOMARABDALLA
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Teacher:Bernard Mabele
Contributors:MRSDORCASNEEMA
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Carbon Cycle, Green-Up / Green-Down
Presentation Poster:
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Optional Badges:Be a Data Scientist, Be an Engineer, Make An Impact
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:03/11/2022
Sanitary pads are essential to the survival of all females,they are extremely useful,convenientand safeforuse,unfortunatelytheyarealsoagreatthreattoourenvironment.IntheUSalone,thereare12billionpadsthatgetthrownawayeveryyearandthisisgreatlycontributingtoclimatechange.Sanitarypadsaremadefromsuper absorb entpolymers which are not biodegradable,they do not decompose,instead they will eventually breakdown into micro-plastics. The micro-plastic contaminate soil,water and the air,posingathreattolivingorganisms.Sanitarypadsalsohaveamassivecarbonfootprint.Ithasalsobeendiscoveredthatover500millionwomenandgirlsworldwide(25%ofthefemalepopulation)cannotaffordtobuysanitarypadsthereforetheyresorttousingclothortissuewhileontheirperiod.Thisisextremelyunhygienicandunsafeasitcancauseanumberofhealthcomplicationsfrominfectionstoinfertility.
Myobjectivesforthisprojectweretofindsolutionstosanitarypadwasteandnon-biodegradablesanitarypadsinordertoimprovetheconditionsofourenvironmentandhelpmitigateclimatechange.
I did this by making sanitary pads out of coconuts,a readily available fruit (material) that is biodegradable,organic,cheap and easy to source. To make them,I wrapped coconut husks with a cut out piece of coconuts heath,lined the bottom with a bio plastic that i made and finally covered it with a white clothe