Pilot project launched to help people have a better period

A new pilot project has been launched by Three Rivers District Council to help residents “have a better period” by making period products available to everyone, while also protecting the environment and breaking down stigmas.

Promoting the message that “periods are normal, together let’s end embarrassment and silence, let’s talk about periods”, Three Rivers District Council is making free period products available at locations across the district, while funding reusable options such as washable period pads and menstrual cups available in a variety of sizes.

In the UK one in ten people with periods cannot afford menstrual products and one in seven say they have struggled to afford them. A standard pack of single use pads contains the same amount of plastic as five plastic carrier bags, with 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste going into landfills every year in the UK alone. While this waste is not avoidable for everyone, using reusable options even some of the time can have a significant impact on the waste a household produces. Disposable products can cost around £5 a month per person and require buying new products every month. Reusables can last between five and ten years.

Elen Roberts, Three Rivers District Council’s Climate Change, Sustainability, and Recycling Officer, said: “I made the switch to reusables a number of years ago, and it’s the best switch I’ve ever made!

“Not only is it much better for the environment, with so much less waste being produced, but it works better for me and my lifestyle and has saved so much money! I have only spent about £20 in the past five years. With my encouragement a lot of my friends have tried the menstrual cup in recent years, and they have all loved it and will never go back to disposables.”

The pilot project has been launched to coincide with the nationwide Great Big Green Week, with events happening across the district all this week. See https://greenwatford.uk/greenweek/  for more details.

Cllr Sarah Nelmes, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, added: “It’s great to see free period products being made available and accessible to anyone who might need them. I'm pleased to see the addition of more environmentally friendly options which help reduce waste and support to reduce our household waste as part of our Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy. Periods are part of everyday life, and we hope this project can normalise and encourage conversations about these products and their benefits.”

Products are available at the following places:

Healthy Hub @The Hive

Wednesdays

12 noon - 3pm

Leavesden Country Park, WD3 0NX

07375 365329

Rickmansworth Food Bank &

Healthy Hub

Tuesdays 12 noon - 3pm

Fridays 1pm - 2pm

Methodist Church, Berry Lane, Rickmansworth, WD3 7HJ

07716 856892

07375 365329

South Oxhey Baptist Church Foodbank

Tuesdays 11am - 1pm

Thursdays 11am - 1pm

140 Gosforth Lane, South Oxhey, Watford, Herts, WD19 7BX

07593 872126

Healthy Hub @ The Hillside Hub

Wednesday 9am-12 noon

Hillside Community Hub,

School Mead,

Abbots Langley, WD5 0LA

07375 365329

No personal details will be requested when collecting products.

A national scheme was also recently launched to provide period products for students in schools and colleges who need them. Individual schools and colleges must opt in so please enquire with schools directly. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-in-schools-and-colleges

Photo, from left to right: Elen Roberts, Climate Change, Sustainability, and Recycling Officer, Three Rivers District Council; Cllr Sarah Nelmes, Leader of Three Rivers District Council; Linda Leaver, South Oxhey Baptist Church Foodbank; Jill Willimott, South Oxhey Baptist Church Foodbank; Jane Drury, Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator at ASCEND; Liz Fraser, Facilities Manager at Step-Up.