Macon becomes first local government in GA to put free period products in county bathrooms

Macon-Bibb County will become the first municipality in Georgia to offer free menstrual products in all county bathrooms, Mayor Lester Miller announced Tuesday.

Officials and activists hope the move will combat period poverty, which occurs when people who menstruate can’t afford or access hygiene products like tampons and pads. It can lead to people missing school, work and experiencing health issues.

“Period products should not be a luxury. No girl or woman should have a struggle to get the supplies they need each month for something they cannot control,” Miller said. “Period poverty is real in the world, and here in Macon-Bibb County.”

The initiative was announced after talks between the Macon-Bibb County government and Macon Periods Easier, a group that collects and distributes menstrual products to schools and other local agencies. Andrea Cooke, a founding member of Macon Periods Easier, said the government was eager to help fight period poverty.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission unanimously passed an ordinance to provide menstrual products in county bathrooms in December 2023 and began placing dispensers at the start of the summer. So far, the county has placed more than 200 pad and tampon dispensers.

Athens and Atlanta both have similar legislation in the works, but Macon is the first to pass and implement this step.

Claire Cox, the chair of Georgia STOMP, a volunteer organization fighting period poverty in Georgia, said the ordinance also makes Macon one of the first municipalities in America to provide free menstrual products in county-owned buildings.

“Macon showed the way and led this state,” Cox said. “I hope other towns and counties will take heed.”

In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 30% of women in the United States have struggled with period poverty, according to a study published in the Korean Journal of Family Medicine. Women and girls who live below the poverty line are more likely to be affected. About a quarter of people in Macon-Bibb County live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Many activists and organizations, including Cox and Georgia STOMP, say period poverty in Georgia is worsened by the state’s “tampon tax,” which refers to laws placing a sales tax on menstrual products. Other items like medicine and certain hygiene products are not subject to sales tax because they are considered essential.

Miller echoed Cox’s sentiments, saying he hopes Macon’s actions inspire others at the state and local levels to get serious about tackling period poverty.

“If we have toilet paper and paper towels in all of our restrooms because they are a necessity, then why shouldn’t we have period products?” Miller said. “This is not political in any way.”