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 last year, 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.

The Boys Need Bins campaign 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.

At a full county council meeting, Cllr Tod said: “This motion is tackling a problem that particularly affects many of the men that have been treated for prostate cancer, but prostate cancer is by no means the only condition that causes these issues.

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“It is an invisible problem. It is an embarrassing problem. But it is almost shocking how simple it is for us as a county council to help make a difference.”

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 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.

“It’s noticeable that there is a small ongoing cost to this that we think it’s worth it even though we’re in tight times financially.”

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

In support of the same campaign, Portsmouth City Council also recently agreed to provide sanitary bins in its men’s toilets.