During the pandemic, a group of students working on a project for Ventures and the Office of Campus Sustainability came up with an idea to give away environmentally friendly menstrual products for free at uOttawa. Giving away free menstrual products is not a new idea, but it is new to uOttawa, and targeting environmentally friendly, local products is entirely novel.
The students created an Instagram account and got some funding from uOttawa's Student Life Services, UOSU, and Facilities Service. The Office of Campus Sustainability and Sanitary Services created a working committee with student representatives and got to work installing dispensers and spreading the news.
It has been over a year since the project kicked-off and the Office of Campus Sustainability has completed the first Impact Report for the Period Project. And so far, the numbers look very promising.
Bottom line, 13,149 menstrual products have been distributed through the distribution machines and at partner locations. This includes reusable menstrual cups that were distributed through the Period Purse project.
There are now seven dispensers on campus, with four groups offering baskets with free menstrual projects. Dispensers are monitored and filled by student volunteers. The baskets with free menstrual products are managed by partner groups, such as the Women's Resource Centre, the Pride Centre, and the Health Promotion Office. There is also a basket available at the Free Store.
Now that the project has successfully gone on for over a year, we are slowly looking to expand. Before more dispensers can be added on campus, sustainable funding needs to be secured. Each new dispenser requires volunteers to fill them, and the cost of new products needs to be considered.
Beyond the dispensers, we are hoping to do more awareness and programing around period poverty and reducing stigma. There are more free menstrual cups to give away and there are planned workshops to create reusable pads.
What do you think about the Period Project? Do you have any ideas about how to grow the program sustainably?
For more information, you can visit our webpage and read the Impact Report.
