Eco-Friendly Condoms: Is There Such Thing?

April 1, 2009 at 12:00 PM by Cafe Sheri - Comments (9)

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Photo via Eco-Chick

Hello, it's Sheri from Home & Garden Buzz, here to talk about eco-friendly condom choices! Condoms are the preferred birth control for many moms out there, so you might as well know how to make your choice the best choice for the environment too.

First and foremost, the advantages to using a condom far outweigh its potential effects on the environment. After all, another human is going to wreak way more havoc on the planet than lots of little condoms.

In fact, via Slate's, What's the Greenest Form of Birth Control?: "Given that the condoms represent only about 0.001 percent of the 152 million tons of trash American households produce annually—and that we still need a lot of research into the precise effects that pharmaceuticals are having on our water supply—condoms seem to be the greener choice."

So how can you choose the best condoms for the planet and how can you dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way?

Via Green Daily and Go Ask Alice!, here are the eco facts about condoms, condom use, and environmentally friendly condom disposal:

• Latex condoms are biodegradable (when not under water), but they take a really long time to break down.
• You can feel pretty good opting for fair trade condoms like French Letter Condoms. The rubber plantation workers are paid proper wages and benefits, and the condoms are completely vegan. However, when it comes to biodegradability, they're still latex.
• Lambskin condoms are the best biodegradable condom choice (chemical additives and lubricants may slow it down some), but they do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV—so maybe only a good choice if you're in a monogamous relationship and you've both been tested for STDs.
• Avoid condoms made of polyurethane, a plastic material that will not break down. And no one is recycling condoms at this point. 
• Bodily fluids are biodegradable. Hooray!
• Condom boxes can be recycled. Yay!
• Plastic or foil wrappers cannot be recycled. Boo!
• For the most friendly condom disposal, DO NOT flush condoms down the toilet. Simply wrapping the condom in a paper (not plastic) bag, tissues, or toilet paper is probably your best bet.

It looks like the condom industry has a ways to go in terms of making a super-green product. However, condoms do most their good green work in preventing unwanted pregnancies, and that's good news for an already overly impacted planet.

So overall, I give condoms a green thumbs up!

FILED UNDER: birth control, green guide, sex life