Not making any more people is one of the best things you can do for the planet (says the mom of two), but birth control can be bad for the environment as well. There are some good ways to make your attempts at curbing overpopulation greener, though. Some forms are greener than others, and some are just plain bad for the planet.
Surprisingly, IUDs are among the greenest forms of birth control, since producing them doesn't create a lot of waste, according to this Huffington Post slideshow.
Another surprise? Vegan condoms! Who knew?
As it turns out, regular latex condoms are infused with casein, a dairy derivative. In any case, make sure you toss them out with the trash instead of flushing them down the toilet. And please don't leave them in front of your neighbor's house so they have to step over them to get into their car. Take it from me, that's gross. There are also fair trade, biodegradable condoms.
The vaginal ring, which lasts three weeks and produces less plastic waste than the Pill, is pretty environmentally friendly, or go old-school with a diaphragm or cervical cap.
Which forms are the least green? Well, both the Pill and the patch release hormones into the water stream through the urine of women who use them, but the Pill comes out worse because it generates a lot of plastic waste (all those little compacts!).
The greenest? Probably Fertility Awareness Method, which uses nothing at all. You need to be very aware of when you're ovulating and remain "sperm-free" during that time. It can be tricky to figure out exactly when to abstain from intercourse, and you'd best not be in a life situation where an unintended pregnancy would be a total disaster. It's green, though, that's for sure.
Do you worry about the eco-friendliness of your birth control?
Image via Kain Road Cul de Sac/Flickr
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Comments 41
Seriously NFP is not that tricky once you know what you are doing, you just have to be aware and do it. Also when used correctly it has about the same preventitve percent that an IUD has ( this is what the pamphelet in the condom box said). Really if you are having sex PERIOD you need to have plans for 'what if'.
Nope I don't worry about how green mine is.
iud isnt as good as u say i had mine expell never using it again im allergic to the pill and condoms all types .. the shot makes me in to a human blood bank ... thinking bout the chip tho.. it could work...
i think there are many other bigger eco concerns and this is really the least of them.
Actually this is a huge eco concern. Most woman use the pill and the hormones are going into our water supply. Our water treatment plants cannot take them out so we are consuming an ever increasing amount of hormones. The result is infertility and cancer starting to crop up in our young men and woman more often. unless we figure out a solution decades down the line families who live in the cities and suburbs who get their drinking water from city water supplies instead of deep wells will be looking at a whole slue of fertility and health issues, not to mention the major effect it's already having on wildlife. Thank you for blogging about this it's not a topic brought up very often but it is a very real problem.
For more info
This is insane! People are seriously worried about hormones going into the water supply, because of birth control?! No wonder there are so many neurotic people nowadays.
Infertility in younger (any) people couldn't possibly be because of a lack of an active lifestyle, or junk/fast food, diabetes, or other health issues we're facing because people are getting lazier... No, its because there are hormones in the water supply, because women out in the world, who don't want to get pregnant, flush a toilet. ::eye roll::
This is so messed up.... Why don't we all just face the truth and realize, humans are just plain bad for the environment. :) We destroy everything. Try to replace/repair/restore things, but our planet will never be as it once was. Let's just live with our consequences. ;)
No, I don't worry at all about how green my BC methods are.
Eh, not really. I think thats the LAST or not even in my mind, while thinking of sex, lol.