Chichester students help tackle period pollution
Freshers at the University of Chichester are at the forefront of a two-year pilot to educate the public about the correct disposal of sanitary products.
We have teamed up with the university and sustainable disposal bag company FabLittleBags to encourage students to bin, not flush, period products.
We are supplying more than 300,000 of the sustainably-sourced, plant-based bags to the university for its communal loos. The university will also be providing bags in all halls of residence, with dispensers supplied by Southern Water.
Stats show 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million pads make it into UK sewers every day, and 66 per cent of all pipe blockages are caused by period products and wet wipes.
Between July 2024 and July 2025, our ‘Unflushables’ team cleared more than 11,000 blockages caused by sanitary products and wipes, and knocked on 13,000 doors in areas that had suffered the impact of preventable blockages to help prevent future incidents.
In addition to the internal and external flooding caused by blockages, many period products contain plastic not only in their applicators but in their strings and absorbent parts, causing microplastic pollution in oceans. A pack of 14 sanitary pads contains the same amount of plastic as five carrier bags, according to FabLittleBag, citing a Natracare study.
Despite all this, recent surveys show that over a third of users have flushed a period product – with many saying they flush because they are unable to dispose of them properly.
The two-year University of Chichester pilot aims to educate students on the impact of flushing sanitary products and offer the bags as an easy, hygienic and discreet way to bin them instead.
Our team was at the university for the start of freshers’ week, handing out packs of FabLittleBags, and other products to help avoid blockages and pollution, while talking to students about their attitudes towards sanitary product disposal.
Matt Collins, who leads the Unflushables team, said: “The new start of university is a great time to get into good habits, and that includes never flushing anything other than the three Ps of pee, poo and paper. We know people often flush sanitary products because they aren’t aware of how to dispose of them properly. FabLittleBags are proven to address that issue. We hope the pilot will encourage students to keep these products out of the sewer network.”
FabLittleBags inventor and CEO Martha Silcott, said: “Educating university students to bin, not flush, is vital to instilling a lifetime of responsible disposal habits. For the University of Chichester, having FabLittleBags in cubicles and residential rooms means fewer blockages, reduced costs, and less hassle. It means that a whole cohort will leave University with good binning behaviour.
"It also enhances the university's reputation as a proactive, innovative, sustainability-focused university that prioritises both student experience and environmental responsibility.”
Lucy Ferre, Environment and Sustainable Development Officer for Chichester University, added: "We're excited to have introduced FabLittleBags into the facilities on our campuses to help inform and educate our students about how to best dispose of period products."