Joining other major metropolises, Mexico City (CDMX) legislated bans on single-use plastic in response to the growing pollution crisis. Unlike other cities that have focused on items such as shopping bags, drinking straws, and eating utensils, CDMX’s ban comes written in a way that bans all single-use plastic, starting in 2021. This broad prohibition on single-use plastic also includes tampon applicators, resulting in the menstrual care product being unavailable throughout the city of 20 million people.
The resulting absence of tampons within the city has incited controversy over the single-use plastic ban and the resulting response from the government. It’s even more peculiar that tampons are still readily available outside city limits.
Rather than revisit the single-use plastic ban and carving out exemptions for health products such as tampons, city officials have recommended women begin using menstrual cups until their preferred products get provided for free as a matter of public health.
