Free period products now available across St. George campus

Team Caretaking leads the rollout of free pads and tampons in retrofitted washroom dispensers

There’s no need to go searching for coins to purchase a pad or a tampon on the St. George campus any longer. As of 2025, hygiene dispensers across campus have been retrofitted to provide free period products, thanks to the efforts of the Facilities & Services (F&S) Caretaking team! 

In less than five weeks, the team retrofitted more than 400 dispensers to work without needing coins. 

“It was all hands on deck,” says Tony Pimentel, Caretaking Supervisor. 

The project was led by Pimentel and fellow Caretaking Supervisor Josh Reiller, with support from Operations Assistant Casey Hsu (Rotman Commerce ‘25) and Caretaking Administrative Assistant Memei Lam. The team began by painstakingly cataloguing every dispenser on campus in a master spreadsheet, identifying the type of dispenser and any issues they encountered, including damage to the machines or missing products. The research and identification process took the team to almost every building on campus, each within Caretaking’s portfolio, which the team took great joy from.  

“I’ve been here for 25 years and I’d never been to the Lillian Massey building before,” says Pimentel. “It’s beautiful in there. I’m fascinated by the history of the university.”  

Once the units were identified, the team had their work cut out for them.  With five different dispenser types and extremely varied levels of age, use and damage, the team had to adapt their approach to each unit. 

Undaunted, Pimentel figured out how to get every dispenser in working order. “I have always enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out how they work,” he said.   

The process involved a tricky modification to each unit’s release mechanism. After the modification was complete, the machines were then cleared of old coins and product, cleaned and restocked. New informational stickers were added to indicate the change. 

“We became professionals at this we did so many,” jokes Pimentel, “I could do this blindfolded now.” 

The project comes after the completion of a pilot program in 2022 and growing calls for accessible period products on campus. The shift away from carrying cash was also a contributing factor.  

“I don’t carry coins!” laughs Hsu, reflecting on the practicality of the upgrade. 

Thanks to some mechanical ingenuity, most machines were repaired and repurposed, saving them from landfill. F&S is proudly dedicated to sustainable and outside-of-the-box thinking, and thanks the team for their hard work!