The Blue Mountains is leading the way in supporting men's health by implementing sanitary bins in men's public bathrooms.

Prostate cancer patients often suffer from urinary issues such as incontinence, making the use of sanitary products essential.

However, men with incontinence have not previously had a place to dispose of their sanitary products.

As 20 per cent of the Blue Mountains population is men aged 50 plus, the region is highly susceptible to prostate cancer.

Mayor Mark Greenhill presented the idea in his mayoral minute at the Blue Mountains City Council meeting on January 27, describing the initiative as a necessity.

"Providing sanitary bins in men's toilets is a simple but important step toward dignity and inclusion," Cr Greenhill said.

Councilors unanimously agreed to the initiative due to the region's older population and high susceptibility to prostate cancer.

President of the Nepean Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group David Wilkinson welcomes the initiative.

"Without a doubt, everyone has said what a great initiative it is, and it is well overdue; for years we have been advocating for various councils to do this with limited success, so we all congratulate Mayor Mark Greenhill for his Mayoral Minute," he said

When there are no sanitary bins, what can a man with incontinence do.”

"Some men wrap sanitary products up in toilet paper and put them in the waste paper bin, but that's a biological hazard, and it's unhealthy for those using the bathrooms, particularly for those who empty the bins."

Despite prostate cancer being the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, with 79 Australian men being diagnosed each day, and 11 men dying of the cancer daily, few councils have implemented similar initiatives.

According to Bins4Blokes, a campaign advocating for sanitary bins to be placed in men's bathrooms, only seven of the 128 NSW local government councils have supported the initiative.

Those councils are Ballina Shire, Camden Council, Hornsby Shire, Port Stephens Council, Randwick City, Snowy Valleys and Wagga Wagga councils.

In Australia, the number of new prostate cancer patients increased from 3607 men in 1982 to 28,868 men in 2025.

In the Nepean Blue Mountains region in 2024, it was also reported to be in the top five most diagnosed cancers, alongside breast, bowel, skin and lung cancer.

Therefore, the measure is widely welcomed. It is unclear how quickly sanitary bins will be placed in the community's public bathrooms.