“Period products should not be a luxury”: Macon-Bibb adds free tampons, pads to every County restroom

Macon-Bibb County is the first to pass an ordinance in the state of Georgia requiring all County-owned restrooms to have accessible period products for women.

"Period products should not be a luxury," said Mayor Lester Miller at a press conference Tuesday. "No girl or woman should have to struggle to get the supplies they need each month for something they can't control."

According to Macon Periods Easier, a non-profit aimed to bring awareness to period poverty, one in six women and girls live below the poverty line in Georgia. Each period product dispenser has a QR code that will lead you to learn more about Macon Periods Easier's efforts.

"In Macon-Bibb County, we have a 28% poverty rate. This causes many households to struggle to pay for menstrual products and creates a lack of access to education about menstruation," said Macon Periods Easier Board Chair Hailie Poppell.

In December 2023, Macon-Bibb County Commissioners unanimously passed the ordinance to provide period products in each restroom. This ordinance came to life after a conversation Mayor Miller had with Macon Mental Health Matters Director and Macon Periods Easier Co-Founder, Andrea Cooke.

"Access to menstrual products and menstrual health is a basic human right," said Cooke. "Yet many individuals struggle to afford pads and tampons. This important issue was brought to me by Claire Cox, who has been a strong advocate for period justice in our community."

"I am proud to say that with the passage of this ordinance in December, Macon became the first municipality in Georgia and the only one to date to provide free period products in all county-owned buildings," said Cox with Georgia STOMP. "This is just one step in ending period poverty. The County alone can't bear the burden in this effort."

Our Facilities Department has installed more than 200 dispensers, so far, in County restrooms including Recreation Centers, The Courthouse, City Hall, and other restrooms.

"If we have toilet paper and paper towels in our restrooms because they are a necessity, why shouldn't we have period products for the larger population of our country, state, and county?," said Mayor Miller. "This is not political. This is real."

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