Don’t Toss Your Toothbrushes

Small as they are, tossed toothbrushes create a lot of waste.  Assuming everyone follows the dentist recommendation to replace your toothbrush every three months, that’s four toothbrushes a year per person- about 50 million pounds into America’s landfills each year.

Fortunately there are some greener alternatives as well as toothbrush recycling programs.

Recycled Alternatives

The handle of a Recycline Preserve toothbrush, designed by dentists, is made out of polypropylene plastic that has been recycled from used Stonyfield Yogurt cups. And when a Preserve toothbrush reaches the end of its effective life, consumers can either recycle it with their other plastic recyclables (if your community offers #5 plastics recycling), or send it back to Recycline in a postage-paid envelope supplied to you with your purchase. It will then likely be reborn again as raw material for a picnic table, deck, boardwalk, etc.

Toothbrushes with Replaceable Heads

Another greener choice is the Terradent line of toothbrushes from Eco-Dent. These innovative toothbrushes have replaceable heads, so that once the bristles have worn out, consumers can just snap on a new head, thus minimizing waste.

Sustainable Toothbrushes

Meanwhile, Radius offers stylish recyclable toothbrushes that are made not from plastic at all but from naturally occurring cellulose derived from sustainable yield forests. Beyond its standard toothbrush line, the company also sells a battery-powered electric “Intelligent Toothbrush” that uses replaceable heads to reduce environmental impact. And the company will take back the handle for recycling once the battery has worn out, usually after about 18 months.

Toothbrush Subscriptions

The online retail website Toothbrush Express offers a toothbrush recycling program similar to Recycline’s. Consumers can sign up to receive new toothbrushes from Toothbrush Express at predefined intervals ranging from monthly to semi-annually. And for only a few dollars extra, the company will include a postage-paid mailer inside each shipment for consumers to use to send their old toothbrushes back for recycling.