Brushing for good Planet-friendly dental products
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Your Challenge
Take a look at your daily dental routine to see if there are sustainable swaps you could make. It’s estimated that we throw away 300 toothbrushes each in our lifetimes,[1] and most of these will be plastic.
- Switch to wooden - many wooden toothbrushes are available in supermarkets and online. If you’re considering a switch, make sure it’s sustainably sourced wood by looking for the FSC logo. This means the wood has come from forests that are sustainably grown and managed, and the wood hasn’t contributed to deforestation.
- Recycled plastic - if a wooden toothbrush isn’t for you, you can reduce the impact of your brushes by switching to recycled plastic or bioplastic options instead. You may be able to recycle plastic toothbrushes at some pharmacies or dentist offices. If it isn’t possible to recycle them, reuse them - old toothbrushes make great scrubbers for hard-to-reach areas, or chop off the head and use it as a plant label in your garden or in plant pots. Lastly dispose of then in your general waste bin.
- Electric toothbrush - if you use an electric toothbrush, reduce your carbon footprint by choosing brush heads made from recycled plastic, and search for recycling schemes available locally or online. Keep your electric toothbrush in use for longer by keeping it clean and dry, and making sure the charging station and plug are not damaged or broken. Check with the manufacturer, or your local repair café, to see if repair options are available.
- Dental floss - Did you know most dental floss is also plastic? Eco floss options reduce the footprint from plastic floss by using cornstarch, bamboo or other plant fibres. But be cautious of the word ‘compostable’, as this means industrial composting is required rather than putting it in your garden compost or food bin. So this floss should go in your general waste bin.
- Another alternative is a water flosser, which uses an electric pump to spray water between your teeth. Again, care for your electronic devices to keep them in use for longer.
Why you're doing this
The plastic found in toothbrushes, floss and dental picks requires fossil fuels to produce them, contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Many plastic dental items are also made in countries where fossil fuels are the main source of power, then they’re shipped across the world to our supermarkets, adding to their carbon footprints. This plastic also takes hundreds of years to break down into microplastics, so if it’s disposed of in landfill it can be washed into seas and oceans, contributing to global plastic pollution and affecting wildlife and habitats.
It’s not just about plastic. Taking care of electric items is also essential to prevent environmental impacts from things like e-waste and the carbon footprint from producing these items. Electric toothbrushes have the highest environmental footprint of all toothbrushes.[2] Repairing them where possible helps to prevent demand for materials and minerals that make up these toothbrushes.
How you'll make a difference
Making small sustainable swaps helps to reduce your carbon footprint and the global impact of plastic pollution. It also supports businesses that are taking action to help our planet and reduce the harm from typical dental items. These include businesses that produce items using renewable energy or invest in low-carbon materials.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
Sources
[1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/story-of-plastic-toothbrushes
[2] Lyne et al (2020) ‘Combining evidence-based healthcare with environmental sustainability: using the toothbrush as a model’ British Dental Journal, Vol.229 (5) 303 – 309 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32918023/
[3] Abed et al (2022) ‘An environmental impact study of inter‐dental cleaning aids’ Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Vol. 50 (1) 2-10 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10092584/