Tampon Tubs
GC.11.14.
GUILD COUNCIL MEETING
DATE OF MEETING 13.11.14
Author Name: Daisy Lindlar
Purpose: (Delete as appropriate)
Mandate Officer(s) or Committees(s)
Summary: To mandate the VPW and VPDRS to look into the feasibility of providing free
and/or discounted sanitary products for students on Guild premises.
Section Three: Mandate A Guild Officer(s) or Committee
3.1. Person(s) Responsible For Delivering Mandate
The Vice President of Welfare and Vice President of Democracy, Resources and
Sustainability.
3.2. Completion Date for Mandate
By the next Guild Council meeting.
3.3. Mandate Text (shall normally be no more than 200 words)
To mandate the Vice President of Welfare and Vice President of Democracy, Resources,
and Sustainability to look into the feasibility of providing free and/or discounted sanitary
products on Guild premises, bearing in mind the accessibility issues that would be faced
by some students (e.g. not all students who would need access to the products would
be comfortable using the women’s toilets)
Section Four: Written Statement in Support of Motion (shall normally be no more than 500
words)
Sanitary products are necessary part of life for thousands of UoB students. Of these
thousands, I can guarantee that the majority have had an occasion where they have
been caught out without them. By this, I mean that you’ve come on your period without
having any tampons or pads available. When this happens on campus, you are left with
three options: 1, attend your day of lectures and risk bleeding on yourself (and others), 2,
hope that a shop on campus have affordable sanitary products in stock, or 3, go home
and miss valuable teaching time. Yes, you can buy sanitary products from the vending
machines in the Guild toilets, but they are overpriced (and reliant on you having the
correct change in the first place), there is little choice, and the machines have been
known to take your money without actually giving you anything in return.
The University of Nottingham recently started implementing “Tampon Tubs” into their
women’s, gender neutral, unisex and disabled toilets in an attempt to tackle this
problem. However, whilst their supplies rely on students to donate their own unused
If you have any queries, please e-mail [email protected]
Tampon Tubs
sanitary products for their upkeep, I believe that the Guild should finance the operation.
University of the Arts London have recently implemented a scheme where students can
pick up free sanitary products from their Students’ Union reception.
Theoretically, it shouldn’t be too expensive; after all, the idea is not that students get their
entire cycle’s supply from the Guild, but that there is some back-up for them should they
get caught short on campus. If it is found to be too expensive to provide sanitary
products free of charge, there is the possibility of selling them at the Guild at cost price,
rather than at a profit, as has been implemented at the University of Leicester SU.
Furthermore, the VPW and VPDRS should look into the feasibility of providing discounted
Mooncups (or similar products) to students. An average of 22 sanitary products are used
per cycle, and 11,000 products used in a lifetime, and none of these are recyclable. As
part of the Guild’s commitment to being environmentally friendly, they should be
encouraging students to use these products, and making them more accessible and
affordable.
If you have any queries, please e-mail [email protected]