How a Delhi student turned sugarcane waste into sanitary pads for women

Ahead of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, Team Udaan has developed reusable sanitary pads from sugarcane bagasse. The project seeks to widen access, cut costs and reduce sanitary waste.

In Short

• Team Udaan targets menstrual stigma unsafe practices and pad unaffordability together
• The reusable pads use sugarcane bagasse as a widely available by-product
• Months of trials focused on absorbency hygiene durability and user comfort

In many parts of India, menstruation remains deeply tied to silence, stigma, and lack of access. While awareness of menstrual hygiene has improved over the years, millions of women and girls continue to struggle with something as basic as safe sanitary products.

For many families, sanitary pads are still considered expensive, inaccessible, or even unnecessary, forcing women to rely on cloth, ash, hay, or other unsafe alternatives during periods.

At the same time, India is also battling another growing problem: the environmental burden created by disposable sanitary pads. Most conventional pads contain plastic and non-biodegradable materials that take hundreds of years to decompose, contributing heavily to landfill waste across the country.

Now, ahead of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, a group of young students from Delhi is drawing attention for developing a solution that attempts to tackle both these issues together.

Led by Anupriya Nayak, Team Udaan, an all-girls student innovation team, has created reusable sanitary pads made from sugarcane bagasse, the dry fibrous waste left behind after extracting juice from sugarcane.

The project transforms agricultural waste into a low-cost, eco-friendly menstrual hygiene product designed especially for women in rural and low-income communities.

What makes the innovation stand out is not just the material used, but the thinking behind it. The students wanted to create a product that was affordable, reusable, safe, and environmentally sustainable, something that could realistically reach women who are often left out of conversations around menstrual health.

THE PROBLEM THEY WANTED TO SOLVE

The idea for the project came from a problem the students had observed closely in their surroundings. In many rural areas and economically weaker communities, women either do not have regular access to sanitary pads or avoid buying them because of cost.

This lack of access directly affects health, education, and confidence. Many girls skip school during their periods because they do not have proper menstrual products. Women also face an increased risk of infections due to unsafe alternatives and poor menstrual hygiene practices.

The students realised that if menstrual products could be made cheaper and reusable without compromising hygiene, it could make a real difference in the lives of many women.

TURNING SUGARCANE WASTE INTO A SANITARY PAD

The team began experimenting with sugarcane bagasse, an agricultural by-product generated in huge quantities by sugar mills across India. Usually treated as waste, bagasse is lightweight, fibrous, and naturally absorbent, making it a promising material for menstrual hygiene products.

After months of research and trial-and-error, the students developed a process to clean, shred, and convert the material into reusable sanitary pads. The aim was to ensure that the pads remained absorbent, hygienic, durable, and comfortable for users.

Unlike conventional disposable pads that add to plastic pollution, these reusable pads are designed to reduce environmental impact while also lowering costs for users over time.

SUPPORT THROUGH INNOVATION PROGRAMMES

The idea received early-stage support under Samsung’s “Solve for Tomorrow” initiative, a programme focused on encouraging young students to use science and technology to solve real-world social issues.

According to the team, the initiative provided mentorship, technical guidance, and exposure that helped them turn their concept into a working product.

The prototype was later refined with incubation and mentorship support at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where the students worked on improving hygiene standards, product design, and manufacturing feasibility.

Experts involved in the mentorship process also helped the team understand scalability and how such innovations can be adapted for larger communities.

MORE THAN JUST A HYGIENE PRODUCT

The impact of the project goes beyond sustainability.

For many women, access to safe menstrual products directly affects dignity, mobility, education, and participation in daily life. Lack of period products often forces girls to stay home from school and women to miss work or social activities.

By creating a reusable, low-cost solution, the students hope to bridge some of these gaps while also reducing the shame and silence surrounding menstruation.

The project also highlights how young innovators are increasingly using STEM education to address social challenges that are often ignored by mainstream systems.

WHY SUSTAINABLE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS MATTER

India generates enormous menstrual waste every year due to disposable sanitary products. Environmental experts have repeatedly warned about the long-term impact of non-biodegradable sanitary waste on landfills and water systems.

Reusable and eco-friendly alternatives are slowly gaining attention as awareness around sustainability grows. However, affordability remains a major challenge for many consumers.

This is where innovations like Team Udaan’s project become important. By using agricultural waste that is already available in large quantities, the solution attempts to create a product that is both environmentally responsible and financially accessible.

YOUNG WOMEN DRIVING CHANGE

At its core, the story of Team Udaan is also a story about young women solving problems they understand personally.

Instead of waiting for large systems to create change, these students used science, local resources, and innovation to build a solution rooted in everyday realities. Their work reflects a growing movement among India’s youth to combine technology with social impact.

As conversations around menstrual health continue to expand in India, initiatives like these are showing that meaningful solutions do not always need expensive technology.

Sometimes, they begin with a simple question: how can waste be turned into dignity for someone else?

- Ends