Pads were a major source of waste in my life for probably over a decade. It took two separate discoveries to change that. The first was period underwear, which unfortunately Green Life does not carry, but Walgreens carries Thinx and other brands can be found online. The second was this.
Neither period underwear nor these reusable pads can get me through my heavy days alone. But combining the two works marvelously. You do have to get used to the process of changing them out - since I can't throw the pad away, I bring a small water-resistant pouch with me to the bathroom and stuff them in there. But they come with two liners each, which makes it really easy to swap the liners out once one is done, and I've been able to reuse mine for at least two years.
These are great. The only time I buy pads now is when I'm traveling and caught out - otherwise, I use period underwear + reusable pads for the first 3 days and then just period underwear for the rest. These have probably saved me hundreds of dollars in the time I've had them. I also find them more comfortable than disposable pads and they prevent my bathroom trash from getting stinky.
Caveats: they don't really work without period underwear unless you have a really light flow. Also, they get a little stinky after a while. Best method I've found so far is to machine wash them with white vinegar and air dry them. Every year or so I do a long soak in cold water + white vinegar and that seems to help too. Speaking of machine washing - I've found that they are mostly safe to wash with dark-colored clothing, but sometimes the smell can transfer over a little so if your washing machine can efficiently process small loads it might be best to wash them alone.
