Sign up to FREE email alerts from MyLondon - London Underground News Subscribe We will use your email address to send you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for more information on how we use your data and your data protection rights. Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email It's 2020, so many of us savvy Londoners love to flaunt our reusable coffee cups on the Tube, take a tote bag to Sainsbury's or even cycle to work.

But if there's one thing many of us probably haven’t thought about when it comes to saving the planet, it’s our periods.

Yep that's right, periods.

The average woman will spend around 2,280 days on their period in their lifetime, using an average of more than 11,000 tampons or pads, HuffPost reported.

But the reality is that every month when we throw out those pads and tampons, they will take hundreds of years to decompose.

Read More Related Articles #Do1Thing: 13 ways you can help the environment while social distancing Read More Related Articles The East London borough that could be underwater in 30 years Made with plastic and other synthetic material like glue, sanitary pads are non-biodegradable and potentially toxic, which means that even just one disposable sanitary pad takes around 500 to 800 years to decompose.

It’s not just the environmental impact of our periods, it's also the cost. For me, I spend at least £50 a year on period products, not including the pain relief and other add-ons.

Which means buying reusable period pads could help save me hundreds of pounds as well as help to save the planet.

So in a feat to #Do1Thing, Louise Lazell from our sister site EssexLive decided to take on reusable period pads and see if I can make my period 'green', as well as save future-me some cash.

This is what happened when I tried reusable period pads for a week.

Getting kitted out It was time to get kitted out (Image: Louise Lazell) Normally, I don't give much thought to my periods, I know it comes once a month and it will last five or six days - c'est la vie.

But this month, I was oddly excited to give my new products a go.

Before I got my period, I filled out a quick questionnaire on Cheeky Wipes, a website for reusable period pads which my friend recommended to me. I answered some basic questions about my period and a few days later I was emailed back with recommended products.

I was recommended a variety of pads and also some 'period pants', but I wasn’t sure I was ready to give the pants a go yet, mainly for practical reasons with work.

I decided to order the full reusable sanitary pad kit a go.

This is what my kit came with: A Mucky Wipes container box - to soak used pads in Two night pads Six day pads Two day liners Teatree and lemon oil Mesh laundry bag for washing I also bought a wetbag to keep the clean and used pads in for when you are out and about, as well as an extra two day pads (just incase).

The kit cost £54.99 but with 10 per cent discount for your first purchase, it was £50, which felt like a lot of money to be forking out, but considering the kits are meant to last a good few years, I think it's worth the initial hit.

All of the pads are winged because they keep them attached to your underwear. But I prefer the wings anyway to avoid any unnecessary leaks.

The first pad I used was a night-pad. Compared with normal pads, the process of putting these on is so faff-free. There’s no plastic wrapping around them or a bit of plastic lining the middle to take off – you just put it around your underwear and do up the popper – easy.

They are also super comfortable, made with a fleecy fabric and much nicer than some of the pads which can rub and irritate you.

You can do the pads up from behind using poppers (Image: Louise Lazell) The website also explains that because they are more absorbent than normal pads, more moisture goes into the pad and leaves you feeling more fresh. Plus there are none of those horrible toxic chemicals, dioxins or gels like normal pads.

After the night's sleep, I woke up and thank god, it was a success. We have all had that awful moment where you wake up and realise you’ve leaked, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Read More Related Articles 50 things Londoners can do to save the city from the impacts of climate change Read More Related Articles How pollution in the London Underground got worse than the city's busiest streets As I was at home, I swapped over to a day pad and just ran the used night pad under some cold water (hot water can stain).

Once I had rinsed the pad, I popped it in the 'Mucky Wipes box' filled with cold water and two drops of teatree oil.

Basically, the pads can stay in there and soak in the cold water until you are ready to do a wash in the machine.

Using the pads at work There are two compartments for the wet bag - one for clean pads and one for used pads (Image: Louise Lazell)

I was nervous to be using the pads for the first time at work, mainly because if it all went horribly wrong, it could be really awkward.

Nevertheless, it was a success. Whenever I needed to change a pad, I simply took my wet bag in the loos with me and popped the used pad in the ‘used’ section.

Because they were so absorbent, I felt so much cleaner throughout the day wearing these and they definitely lasted longer than a normal pad.

The darker charcoal colour of the pad also meant they were much more pleasant than seeing the blood on a white pad.

Just a warning for anyone using the washbag though - it is really handy but it is also quite large so you will not be able to cram it in a clutch bag.

I then had to wash the pads (Image: Louise Lazell) When I got home, I did the same thing – rinsed out the pads with some cold water and popped them in the box, which I refilled with new cold water and a few drops of teatree oil.

I know this seems like a lot more effort than just chucking them in the bin, but I can see how quickly this would become second nature and it wasn't time-consuming.

After a second successful day, I collected the used pads which had been soaking in the cold water and popped them into the mesh bag ready for washing.

I popped them on a 30 degree wash, with normal detergent and a handful of darker clothes.

I had no idea what to expect when they came out. I was envisaging pulling them out, horrified but they looked good as new. They looked like they had never been used, which is what you want.

I popped them outside on the drier and within a few hours they were dry and ready to go again.

Attempting to exercise You just pop the used pads into this mesh bag before they go in the machine (Image: Louise Lazell) The big test came when I had a gym class during the week, which involves a lot of movement on a trampoline.

Because there’s no stickiness on the reusable pads like a normal one, these are held on by their poppers, which are fine but you need to wear a tight fitting pair of pants to keep it in place.

Sadly, within a few minutes of bouncing around in my gym class, I felt the pad move out of place so I ran to the loo to use my emergency tampon.

Others may have a different experience, but for me exercise-wise, these pads didn’t quite tick the box – although I imagine that 'period pants or underwear' (specifically designed to absorb) - would be much better.

Is it weird to have flamingos on my period pads? This design is pretty funky (Image: Louise Lazell)

I have to admit when I saw the design patterns I was in two minds. For one, hands down they win the award for being the most fun period products I have ever laid eyes on.

But two, were they going to be visible under clothes? Is it weird to have flamingos on my period pads?

I have concluded however, considering that periods are pretty shoddy at the worst of times, with the cramps, back ache, sore boobs and headaches etc - I might as well have a fun pattern to slightly jazz up the usually unpleasant experience.

I also liked that I could make use a starry pattern on the night-time pads to make it easier to differentiate between the two.

On top of that, they are seriously comfortable. I was concerned that it might look obvious I was wearing them where they’re not physically stuck to down to the knickers but they didn’t at all.

I can quite happily say that I also felt far more hygienic using these than normal pads.

Will I use them again? The verdict - I'll be using these again, 100 per cent (Image: Louise Lazell) I will absolutely be using these again, they were comfortable, easy (and quiet) to put on, toxic-free and super easy to wash.

I did not have any wild parties during the week of my period, so these pads did not get the full night-out test.

However, based on how the exercise went, I think period pants or a mooncup would work much better for any dancing-based activities, so I will definitely need to venture out.

The nicest bit by far is knowing I am helping the environment and will no longer be contributing any longer to the heaps of non-decomposable pads.

How to get involved with our #Do1Thing campaign The people of London are all facing the critical issue of climate change, and we want to do something about it.

MyLondon is asking you, our loyal readers, to #Do1Thing to help the environment this year.

We don’t expect you to make colossal changes to your life, but this list of 50 ideas will make a massive difference to our future if we work collectively .

MyLondon will be getting involved too, plus we’ll be publishing interesting and important stories about local issues and climate heroes.

Want to get involved? Share your efforts with the hashtag #Do1thing on Twitter or Facebook - we’d love to see! Alternatively, if you have a fantastic story you want to share about how you’re saving the planet, give us a message on our Facebook page .

Plus, even if these last me just four years, I will have saved £200 which I would have spent on normal sanitary pads and tampons.

That’s a win-win in my situation.

Here’s to a future of greener periods.