Recycle Your Toothbrush

Even though toothbrushes are small, they can add up at the dump. In fact, about 50 million pounds of toothbrushes are tossed into American’s landfills each year and if we all listened to our dentist and replaced them every three months, there would be even more.

The solution, recyclable toothbrushes that are designed by dentists and are made from used Stoneyfield yogurt cups. When the toothbrush has reached the end of its life, you just throw it in your blue recycle bin or send it back to Recycline in a postage-paid envelope that the company sends with the toothbrush. It will then likely be reborn again as raw material for a picnic table, deck, boardwalk or other durable long-lasting product.

Another solution is the replaceable head toothbrush, you retain the plastic handle part of the toothbrush and replace the head (bristles). Then you have toothbrushes that aren’t even made of plastic at all. Radius is a new line of toothbrushes that are made of naturally occurring cellulose derived from sustainable yield forests. For those who are stuck on their mass market toothbrush, the online retail website “Toothbrush Express” offers a toothbrush recycling program similar to Recycline’s. And for the rest who just don’t know what to do with their old toothbrushes, make them into a kids bracelet. A few minutes in boiling water and the handle can mold into any shape you please.

http://environment.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=environment&cdn=newsissues&tm=471&gps=347_242_1387_861&f=11&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.recycline.com/

http://environment.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=environment&cdn=newsissues&tm=1224&gps=377_496_1387_861&f=11&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.eco-dent.com/

http://www.radiustoothbrush.com/

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Leslie Boser