"From Abigail’s first interaction with the school in promoting sustainable period products in the canteen to her in-person workshops…it was faultless. Students felt comfortable approaching Abigail and were genuinely interested in how one can reduce their waste in relation to disposable sanitary items.

Abigail created a safe space so that all students present felt comfortable to ask questions.  It was amazing to see the impact of these products in terms of their sustainability and cost-effectiveness over a lifetime. 

I feel these workshops should be rolled out nationally to all women, each of us having a responsibility to be more sustainable in our consumption of sanitary products. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Abigail for giving her time, energy, and warmth to students and staff in Kinsale Community School".

Fiona Hedderman (School Teacher)

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The programme raises awareness of, and normalises the use of, reusable menstrual items, with the aim of increasing use of reusable and plastic-free menstrual items in Ireland, in place of disposables, in line with the move towards a circular economy.

No Plastic. Period. brings about attitudinal and behavioural change in young people.

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The programme focuses on highlighting positives around the use of reusable menstrual items, such as cost savings compared to disposables, and their convenience of use, rather than focusing on the negatives of disposables.

It aims to raise awareness in young people of the full range of menstrual options available to them, so they are empowered to make informed decisions, instead of continuing to view disposable pads and tampons as their only options. The longer-term goal is to normalise the use of reusable menstrual items and bring them from the fringe and into the mainstream.

Why raise awareness of reusable menstrual items?

Menstruation is a healthy part of life experienced at some point during their lifetime by over 50% of the population of Ireland. Additionally, years of shame surrounding this normal bodily function has led to a lot of confusion when it comes to the range of menstruation products available, and dependence on disposable menstruation items has led to stark environmental damage:

• Disposable menstrual items are the 5th most commonly littered product found on European beaches.
• Menstrual items are a substantial source of single-use plastic. Menstrual pads contain up to 90%plastic, and a big-brand pack of 14 menstrual pads contains the same amount of plastic as 5carrier bags!
• A person uses between 12,000 and 16,000 menstrual items in their life, making disposable menstrual items a huge source of single-use plastic.

While reusable alternatives in the forms of menstrual cups, period pants and cloth pads are currently available for use, their uptake is low. This programme aims to increase the uptake of these reusable options and support the move away from single-use disposable menstrual items.

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"In late November, Abi came into Kinsale Community School to deliver workshops to deliver a No Plastic. Period. workshop. She visited a number of classes of TY, fifth and sixth-year students. All of Abi ‘s sessions were very well received by our girls as the presentation given was perfectly geared to the audience, holding their attention and interest. The girls were surprised and intrigued to learn about and see the various products that were available for them to use. They responded well and were keen to find out as much information as they could about No Plastic Period. It was great to see a large number of girls wanting to try reusable menstrual items after the workshops. As a school, we were delighted with the workshops as we are very conscious of our impact on the environment and want to try to be as sustainable as possible. These workshops were very successful in getting that message across".

Tracey Fleming (School Teacher)

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The target audience for the programme.

The programme is focused on raising awareness of reusable menstrual items in young people, aged 12 to23.

This age group has been selected as they are at the very beginning of their menstruation and so anymove from disposables to reusables will have a bigger impact by changing lifetime behaviour.

Focusing on the positives!

The No Plastic. Period. programme is keen to focus on the positives the shift to reusables brings to our lives, rather than focusing on the negatives of disposables! For example, using reusable menstrual items is a great way to tackle period poverty as they are much more cost-effective than disposables, they also can be worn for much longer than disposable pads and tampons, making them really convenient! The programme also provides information on their use and cleaning.

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Please email abi@voiceireland.org for more information

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This project is funded under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

DISCLAIMER: Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained in this web page, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the authors accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting or refraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained in this web page.

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