Every men's bathroom stall should have a disposal bin for sanitary products. If you see a "For Dads" or "For disposal of Parenting products" in a public toilet disposal bin, take it home to dispose of it, and tell the establishment it does not belong there

I've been a dad for 8 months now. My baby girl has been in disposable nappies for 5 of those months. I have used a public bathroom with my baby over 200 times. Of all those public bathrooms, fewer than 10% have provided disposal bins for sanitary waste. This is, to put it mildly, not enough. Parenting can be an intimate, personal issue, but it shouldn't have to be, and in order to change that culture, you need to help change that culture. Every. Single. Time.<br><br>If every public bathroom stall had a bin in it, you could dispose of your sanitary waste on the toilet, with nobody else ever having to see it. But it doesn't, so you have to take it out into the main bathroom, where others will see you doing it, and deposit it in the appropriate bin. Carrying a bag of poo covered nappy out of a cubicle is embarrassing, and uncomfortable for the occupants of the bathroom, and they will occasionally say things. You might get a strongly worded whisper through the door telling you you're a sick person, or that you're doing something illegal and that they will inform someone. I have even been reported to security for doing this on more than one occasion.<br><br>If we can normalise men changing disposable nappies, we can normalise dad's taking sanitary waste out of a public bathroom stall to deposit it where it belongs. Sometimes, just by doing it, you will face confrontation, which is uncomfortable, but brings light to the issue. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask someone if you can dispose of a "soiled item" in the sanitary bin, and explain that there wasn't a disposal bin in the cubicle, and watch the shame spread across their face as they try to tell you where to put it. Sometimes, you need to politely argue that it doesn't belong in the "Parenting disposal" bin, and they will try and convince you that, actually, it does. But sometimes, you approach someone who was blissfully unaware of this issue, who takes the information on board, and then goes home to tell their friends and family. Sometimes, just sometimes, they might even work for the council.<br><br>Each one of those times you might encounter confrontation, but they pale in comparison to the number of times nobody says a word, because we all know that sanitary products don't belong in general waste, but not enough of us have said it outloud. It is nobody's responsibility to fix this problem but the establishments, but they won't do anything until we, as a society, have spoken out against it. As a Dad who regularly uses public bathrooms, I am uniquely placed to highlight this issue, and I can only do that by being uncomfortable, and that is a small price to pay for helping a societal shift towards normalising dads parenting, and menstrual equity.<br><br>So next time you have to change your baby in a public bathroom that doesn't have a bin in the cubicle, don't let them sweep it under the rug. Take it home if you have to, and tell everyone you see along the way exactly why you are taking a bag full of poo with you. <br><br>EDIT: Firstly, thank you so much kind internet strangers for all the awards and the silver and gold. It's my first ever, and I'm really very touched that you think my post deserved them!<br><br>Secondly, thank you to everyone who has shared their stories, and their tips on getting around this issue. What I love more than anything was that not a single person has said anything negative or nasty. This sub is amazing, and I'm so glad we can all have this discussion as friends.<br><br>Lastly, for those of you who have reached out via direct message, thank you so, so much. I have been overwhelmed by the number of council workers, and customer service employees, and architects who contacted me directly to let me know that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure this was changed in as many places as they could. That, to me, is the absolute best of humanity. Stay absolutely fabulous, and you have absolutely made this dad cry.<br><br>EDIT 2:<br><br>Wow. Just wow. I have woken up to over 1500 messages, and I am going to try my best to respond to each and every one of you. I am still trying to keep up with the messages, but the support is absolutely blowing me away. <br><br>There are several themes that are popping up in the messages, so I'm just gonna address some of them here, as I'm finding I'm writing the same things over and over.<br><br>I am based in Australia, and I have received several messages from people who have never encountered this issue in their city or state or even country. This, honestly, does give me a lot of hope for the future. <br><br>I have also received a lot of tips from parents who have found ways around this problem. From bins that are hidden behind a screen, to tying the nappy bag to something in the cubicle, to tying multiple nappy bags together to make a rope back to the bin. You all make me smile, and I am so proud of the ingenuity of the parenting community. <br><br>To those of you who have shared their own stories of dropping subtle (or unsubtle) hints to businesses, and to those who have told me about their jobs in local government, or as architects, or in customer service, and how they all plan to try to make changes moving forward, I am humble and grateful, and you are the brightest beacons of light in a world that desperately needs it. <br><br>If you have messaged asking for permission to share, please, please don't ever feel like you need to ask anyone for permission to do something good. You are all amazing, and you have all given me such hope that we can, one conversation at a time, change the world.<br><br>Rufty, you made me cry. You can have all my gold. <br><br>Okka, if you're still in Perth, I'd love to buy you a drink. (Sorry, I don't do coffee)<br><br>Thank you all, so very much. Keep on keeping on, and I will do my best to do the same.