Approximately 264 million toothbrushes are thrown away annually in the UK, almost all made from single use plastic.
Buy a Non-Plastic Toothbrush
Bamboo. It is fast-growing, biodegradable and contains natural antibacterial properties.
A recycled plastic toothbrush with a reusable handle or reusable head.
A toothbrush with natural bristles instead of plastic bristles, as this material will biodegrade.
If you must use plastic bristles on your toothbrush, choose BPA free bristles.
An electric toothbrush featuring a return-for-recycling scheme, from brands including Brushd, Philips, Colgate.
An electric toothbrush made from medical-grade silicon, aluminium or bamboo. These are petroleum-free.
Dispose of your Toothbrush Thoughtfully
Before disposing of your toothbrush handle, pluck out the plastic bristles and dispose of them in general waste.
Dispose of your bamboo toothbrush handle in the garden waste/ compost bin.
Drop off your used recycled plastic toothbrush to a TerraCycle drop-off point.
Send your used electric toothbrush head and handle back to the company that you bought it from for recycling.
Manual Toothbrush
TePe GOOD Regular Soft Toothbrush
Geoorganics
The Environmental Toothbrush
Peace With The Wild
Bamwoo
OCOAH
Truthbrush
Zero Waste Club
The Humble Co.
SWAK
Electric Toothbrush
Geoorganics Sonic Toothbrush
Foreo ISAA Electric Toothbrush
Quip Aluminium Handle Electric Toothbrush
Pearlbar Sonic Electric Bamboo Toothbrush
Goodwell Be.Brush
Brushd
A bamboo handle, compared with a plastic handle, improves your CO2 footprint by 68% (British Dental Journal)
Bamboo toothbrushes take only 6 months to biodegrade, compared to plastic toothbrushes that take up to 500 years.
The climate change impact of a plastic electric toothbrush is 11 times greater than a bamboo toothbrush (British Dental Journal 2020)
3.5 billion plastic toothbrushes are used worldwide every year, with the average person using 300 in their lifetime. Roughly 80% of these end up in the sea, posing risks to marine ecosystems (The Independent)
A plastic toothbrush is made from polypropylene plastic (handle) and nylon (bristles), which both derive from fossil fuels.
- Plastic toothbrushes represent 1% of total waste in our ocean.
- Most plastic toothbrushes get lost in the recycling process and end up in landfill or make their way into rivers and oceans.
In order to keep warming below 1.5C we need to halve emissions by
2030. Share this action and help play a part in reversing climate change.