Bins 4 Blokes: it’s in the can
Camden Councillor Cindy Cagney is pushing to have incontinence bins installed in the region’s public toilets to support men needing to dispose of pads when they are out and about.
Bins4Blokes makes visible a condition that impacts 1.34 million boys and men across Australia who are living with incontinence.
The bins are good for blokes and good for the environment.
"I work across the aged care sector and part of my role is organising forums for providers about emerging issues and information for the elderly," Councillor Cagney told the Wollondilly Advertiser.
"At one of the forums a woman from the Continence Foundation of Australia spoke about this issue.
"It was like a lightbulb moment for me because it wasn't something I had ever thought about before."
Continence Foundation of Australia estimate 13% of Australian men are affected by urinary incontinence. The prevalence of urge incontinence, which is strongly associated with prostate disease, is fairly low in younger males and increases to 30% for those aged 70-84 and 50% for those 85 years and over.
But while sanitary bins for girls and women have long been a fixture in public toilets, there has been no equivalent for men.
Cnr Cagney said the lack of a means to dispose of incontinence products deterred men from going out. "Without bins it would require them to not only carry the incontinence product in but then put it in a bag or something and carry it out.”
Continence Foundation of Australia made a submission to a consultation on the National Men’s Health Strategy 2020–2030, which raised incontinence as an unrecognised men’s health issue which needs to be part of a men’s health agenda.
The Foundation is currently advocating for the installation of continence product bins in men's toilets through its BINS4Blokes campaign.
The campaign is calling for Bins4Blokes bins to be installed in public toilets Australia wide.
They want to smash the stigma around incontinence, raise awareness of how common the issue is in Australia and get males who are incontinent to get help and advice.