There is a campaign running in the UK right now that LeakedBriefs wants every reader to know about. It is called Boys need Bins. It is led by Prostate Cancer UK, supported by Bladder Health UK, the Men's Health Forum, the British Toilet Association, and several others. And it is addressing one of the most practical, most overlooked, and most solvable problems that men managing incontinence face every single day.

The problem is simple. Men's public toilets in the UK do not have sanitary disposal bins. Women's do. The law requires bins in women's toilets. It says nothing about men's.

The consequence of that gap is not minor.

What the research shows

Prostate Cancer UK surveyed 84 incontinent men and 62 workplaces in 2023 to understand the scale of the problem. The findings are stark.

95% of men reported feeling stressed and anxious about product disposal when away from home. 87% had worn a pad for longer than they wanted to because they could not find a bin to dispose of it. 50% had worn a pad for two or more hours beyond their intended change point (Prostate Cancer UK, 2023).

The health consequences of that overwearing are real and documented. 64% of men in the survey experienced physical health impacts from wearing a product too long, including rashes, thrush, fungal infections, urinary tract infections, pressure sores, and ulcers. 17% required a GP or pharmacy appointment as a result.

44% of men in the survey had reduced the time they spent away from home because of their incontinence. 25% would only go to places where they knew bin facilities were available.

These are not minor inconveniences. These are men with prostate cancer, OAB, and other conditions quietly shrinking their lives because the infrastructure to manage their condition with dignity does not exist in the places they need to go.

The legal gap

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, published by the Health and Safety Executive, requires that in toilets used by women, suitable means for the disposal of sanitary dressings should be provided. It says nothing about men's toilets.

This is the legislative gap Boys need Bins is working to close. The specific ask is the removal of the gender specification from that regulation, so that the provision requirement applies to all toilets equally. One bin. Per cubicle. In men's toilets. The same as women already have.

What it costs

Commercial sanitary bin servicing typically costs roughly £50 to £90 per bin per year, going by UK washroom-service pricing. The same workplaces surveyed by Prostate Cancer UK were spending up to £5,000 per year unblocking men's toilets from incorrectly disposed non-flushable products. Nearly 1 in 5 workplaces were paying to unblock men's toilets. The financial argument for providing bins is straightforward: bins cost less than blockages.

The progress made

The campaign has already produced real change. Winchester Council became one of the first councils in England to install male sanitary bins in public toilets. The Jersey Government installed incontinence bins in all men's public toilets. Moto motorway services committed to rolling out provision across their network.

The Senedd debated the issue in May 2023. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care has been engaged. The campaign is gaining traction at exactly the level where legislative change happens.

Why LeakedBriefs supports this campaign

The bin gap is not a peripheral issue for the men LeakedBriefs serves. It is the specific, practical, infrastructure failure that turns a manageable condition into an isolating one.

A man who has found the right product, in the right underwear, with the right skin care routine, still cannot manage his condition with dignity in a public toilet in most of the UK. Not because of his condition. Because of a bin that costs under £100 a year and does not exist.

The disposal bag in the everyday carry kit is the workaround that should not be necessary. It is necessary because the infrastructure has not been built. Boys need Bins is building it.

LeakedBriefs will be referencing the campaign's progress in our survey, in our content, and in our outreach to healthcare organisations. If you have found this site useful, following Prostate Cancer UK on social media and supporting the Boys need Bins campaign is one of the most practical things you can do for the men who will come after you.

What you can do

Support the campaign directly at prostatecanceruk.org. Follow Prostate Cancer UK on social media at @ProstateUK.

If you are an employer or facilities manager reading this: 73% of workplaces surveyed had no hygiene disposal plan for men's toilets. One bin. One decision. Done.

If you have experienced the specific indignity of having nowhere to dispose of a product in a public toilet: you are in the 87%. You are not alone and the campaign to fix it is active.

The organisations behind Boys need Bins

Prostate Cancer UK leads the campaign. Partners include Bladder Health UK, the Men's Health Forum, the British Toilet Association, Tackle Prostate Cancer, the International Longevity Centre, Truckers Toilets UK, the Urostomy Association, and the World Federation of Incontinence and Pelvic Problems.

These are serious organisations doing serious work. LeakedBriefs is proud to stand alongside them in naming this problem and supporting the campaign to fix it.

Boys need Bins. It really is that simple.