Toothbrush Recycling!

Damien

I’m an overthinker, I constantly try “eco friendly” alternatives to every day necessities.

I’ve tried a few wooden toothbrushes and unfortunately they don’t work as well as I hoped or maybe I expected too much from a manual toothbrush, anyway. You can now recycle toothbrushes rather than dropping them into the bin for your local landfill.

Pretty cool! Click this link for a map of recycling locations.
And click here for more information about the program.

This is for the UK only, I’m not sure if other countries offer this too? If so comment and I’ll update links. 😇

And a link for the US, thanks @HollyAnne

HollyAnne

This is really cool!

I just looked, and in the United States, TerraCare and Colgate have partnered to form a recycling program for oral care products, including toothbrushes. They will send you a box to collect your recyclables in, and all you have to do is print out a label and send it back. They even give you points for recycling that you can use toward a donation to a non-profit organization.

Here is the link for people who want to learn more: https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/colgate

YellowTomato

I love this so much! I always feel awful whenever I toss out an old toothbrush. I've had bamboo ones in the past, but didn't like them as much as a plastic one. I'm going to look into the TerraCare and Colgate program. It looks like a really good way to recycle and donate to charity.

Daltjr

I am looking for ways to be eco-friendly too and this program looks pretty cool! Thanks for posting the link for the US. I am going to start doing this right away. We sure do go through a lot of toothbrushes!

SpiritandPlants

The TerraCycle is a great program.

Have you tried toothpowders or oil pulls?

Oil pulls (using olive or coconut oil), 'pull out' the toxins when you swish and pull the oil between your teeth.

Toothpowders can be:
baking soda
magnisum
clove oil
peppermint oil
(other essential oil)
Stirred up and used similar to toothpaste.

Some people brush once a day. If you aren't eating sugar, keep your mouth clean and your gut happy your mouth should be fine (underlying conditions may cause problems, but if you have them brushing twice a day isn't likely going to help much). (50% less brushing is 50% of toothbrushes you'll be buying)

Some people 'brush' with their fingers.