Sanitary bins will be installed in staff and public men’s toilets at county council buildings to support Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Boys Need Bins’ campaign.

In September 2023, Cllr Martin Tod submitted a motion to urge Hampshire County Council to consider providing at least one sanitary bin in all-male toilets, both public and in council buildings.

With unanimous support, the motion was carried.

Now, the county council has taken a step forward and approved the expenditure of £6,550 to collect and empty the bins in all 202 public and staff male cubicle toilets in county council buildings, including libraries and outdoor centres.

Although bins won’t installed at schools, the county council will encourage schools to apply for them.

Executive member for countryside and regulatory services Cllr Russell Oppenheimer (Conservative, Petersfield Hangars) said: “Many men will welcome it, not just men who actually want to use these bins for sanitary products, but I think all men it’s just a positive step forward.”

He added the small ongoing cost was “worth it even though we’re in tight times financially”.

The ‘Boys Need Bins’ campaign by Prostate Cancer UK calls for more inclusive sanitary waste disposal for men, which includes incontinence pads, stomas, and catheters.

The charity claims that men with incontinence feel anxious and stressed about the challenges they face in public. This can have physical and mental impacts, resulting in them leaving their homes less often.

The initiative aims to raise prostate cancer awareness and allow men to dispose of sanitary waste with dignity.