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So you are smart enough to have safe sex (preventing both pregnancy and STDs) by using a condom correctly. But what to do with the condom when you’re done with it? Here are some tips for the environmentally friendly disposal of condoms.
First of all, never rinse a condom! Flushing condoms is not the way to deal with them. Condoms can clog your home plumbing (or plumbing wherever you are). This can be an expensive and embarrassing situation. If the condom manages to pass through the septic system, it will end up with only solid waste. This means that someone has to get him out of the treatment plant, which is not pleasant for anyone. The condom can even go through the sewage treatment plant. This is not good because it means it can end up in the water supply and the last thing we need is more pollution in our rivers, lakes and oceans.
Not all condoms are made the same. Most condoms are made of latex, which means they are biodegradable. Latex, however, does not biodegrade under water, so it is not worth rinsing used condoms. However, condoms are not entirely made of latex, and other condom components (spermicides, lubricants) may affect biodegradation. It seems like the best option is to send them to a landfill and see how they stand the test of time.
Some condoms, including all female condoms, are made of polyurethane, a type of plastic. They are not biodegradable. However, there is no option other than throwing them in the garbage, as your local recycling point will not recycle used condoms. They won’t even recycle new condoms.
Other condoms are made of lambskin. They are completely biodegradable condoms. However, there will also be lambskin condoms! Lambskin condoms do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. The pores in a lamb’s skin are small enough to retain sperm and thus prevent pregnancy, but the pores are large enough to let any STDs and infections pass through. This option is only feasible for people in monogamous relationships who have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. In that case, you can consider an even more environmentally friendly form of contraceptive barrier, such as the diaphragm, cervical cap, or shield. Ask your doctor what is best for you.
No matter what material you use (latex, polyurethane or lambskin), you will have the packaging to throw away. These foil wraps are not biodegradable or recyclable. It just has to be thrown into the trash.
Even if latex or lambskin condoms are biodegradable, it’s best not to try to compost or bury the condoms. The animals will sense a human scent and try to dig up what you have buried. This means that there will be unsightly used condoms around. Burying a condom is the same as littering: there are better ways to handle condoms.
So, finally, what’s the best way to get rid of condoms? It’s best to wrap it in a piece of toilet paper or a paper towel (or other biodegradable material: think paper bases like paper bags) and then throw it in the trash. Do not wrap the condom in plastic as it will not biodegrade. The good news is that semen and vaginal discharge are sure to biodegrade and can facilitate the biodegradation of a condom.
Finally, remember … never reuse a condom. While reduce, reuse and recycle this ecological motto, you must put your health first. Don’t limit your use of condoms, don’t reuse condoms, and it’s a shame you can’t recycle them just yet. To think on a wider environmental scale, using condoms is environmentally friendly as it prevents the spread of infectious diseases. It also prevents conception, and babies have been documented as cuddling with consumers of global resources.
Hopefully, we’ll soon be able to come up with an environmentally friendly way to have safe sex. Until then, we only have what we can and will continue to use condoms.
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Source by Lilith Mill