Image caption: The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months.
2 hours ago
Billions of toothbrushes are thrown away around the world every year. How can I brush my teeth in a more environmentally friendly way?
When I worked in an office, I used to keep a manual plastic toothbrush in my desk drawer. My colleagues used to laugh when they saw me rushing to the bathroom with my toothbrush after lunch. At home, I used an electric toothbrush. I’ve always cared about taking care of my teeth, but I didn’t know much about the material of the brand of toothbrush I used or its impact on the environment. My relationship with the toothbrush, which was limited to the tooth brushing function, broke up after a certain period of use. And this is probably not just my situation.
According to the American Dental Association, it is recommended to replace your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months. If your toothbrush bristles are worn out, you should replace them sooner.
Given the existence of toothbrushes (billions of toothbrushes are used and discarded every year), researchers from University College London (UCL) Eastman Institute of Dentistry and Trinity College Dublin compared the sustainability of different types of toothbrushes. They conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) from production to disposal on regular plastic manual toothbrushes, plastic manual toothbrushes with replaceable toothbrush heads, bamboo toothbrushes, and electric toothbrushes and released a report.
In the life cycle assessment of toothbrushes, the one with the greatest impact on the environment was polypropylene, a plastic derived from fossil fuels used to make plastic toothbrushes. According to the Global Plastics Outlook report published by the OECD, approximately 380 million tons of plastic waste is produced worldwide every year. Waste from consumer goods is estimated to be 43 million tons of this. In addition, approximately 14 million tons, or 3.7% of total plastic waste, is made of polypropylene.
As a result of the life cycle assessment, electric toothbrushes had an 11 times greater environmental impact than bamboo toothbrushes. Electric toothbrushes received the worst scores in all but one category (lack of water). A big factor in the negative environmental impact of electric toothbrushes is transportation (toothbrushes are heavier).
If the electric toothbrush ranked last, which toothbrush took first place? The report excluded evaluations related to oral hygiene in this evaluation. UK health authorities say there is no clinical evidence to show which type of toothbrush is more effective at preventing cavities and cavities, but electric toothbrushes are more effective at removing plaque. However, this also depends on the technology and timing device used in the toothbrush, and the agility of the toothbrush head.
bamboo toothbrush
In a study by UCL and Trinity College, plastic manual toothbrushes with replaceable toothbrush heads ranked first. And the bamboo toothbrush followed. Even though toothbrush heads can be replaced, the assessment that plastic toothbrushes are more sustainable than bamboo toothbrushes was quite surprising. This is because bamboo is a natural carbon sink that grows quickly even in harsh environments.
Paul Ashley, report co-author and professor of pediatric dentistry at UCL, said: “Bamboo toothbrushes could prevent better land use, such as increasing biodiversity or growing trees to offset carbon emissions. “So bamboo toothbrushes, as is widely believed, are not necessarily the best option for the environment. However, it is worth noting that the climate impact of bamboo toothbrushes is much lower than that of regular or electric toothbrushes.”
Patrick Buckland, CEO of The Humble, a Swedish company that makes bamboo and plant-based toothbrushes, says the company works closely with its suppliers to grow bamboo in a way that respects the surrounding ecosystem and does not encroach on land important for biodiversity or food production. said.
“Bamboo is unique as a toothbrush material because it is highly biodegradable and will naturally decompose if disposed of properly,” Buckland said. “On the other hand, most plastic toothbrushes remain in the environment for centuries if not fully recycled. Plastic recycling is a big problem that our society has not yet solved on a large scale.”
About 60% of the toothbrush handles made by The Humble are 100% plant-based. The company plans to replace all handles with plant-based materials within the next 12 months. Other parts of the toothbrush use small amounts of plastic. Toothbrush heads are made from nylon, a plastic component, but Buckland said he is currently researching alternative materials.
Jive Safavi, founder of British electric toothbrush company Suri, creates sustainable electric toothbrushes. Sabafi said he discovered a problem while designing the toothbrush. While researching replaceable and recyclable plastic toothbrush heads, he heard from several recycling companies in the UK that “toothbrush heads can be recycled, but they are too small to be recycled and processed.”
Safavi faced a similar challenge when looking for a manufacturer to make toothbrush handles that users could open for repairs. When the manufacturers said, “We are trying to make a toothbrush that can be repaired,” they were initially puzzled and responded with disbelief.
But Safavid found solutions to both problems. In current repairs, toothbrush bristles are made from corn starch and toothbrush bristles are made from castor oil. To recycle used toothbrush bristles, Suri toothbrush consumers send their toothbrush heads to the company in the bag provided by Suri. The company also collects all toothbrush products that have reached the end of their useful life.
Safavi said, “We created a toothbrush (equipped with a battery) that can be used 2 to 3 times longer than existing electric toothbrushes on a single charge,” adding, “As the number of charging times is reduced, the overall battery life is significantly increased, extending the life of the toothbrush.” “It will happen,” he said.
“Our company disassembles the recovered toothbrushes and reclaims all possible materials. “Batteries cannot be reused, but we can recycle them into the best possible raw materials.”
British consumer magazine ‘Witch’ evaluated Suri as “one step ahead of other products on the market when it comes to eco-friendly certification.”
Sophie Thomas, circular design expert and visiting professor at UCL, said: “Suri’s electric toothbrush is definitely a step in the right direction, with charging and repair services (a good way to deal with the common shortcomings of these products) and recycling through return of the toothbrush head.” said.
“The carbon emissions of electric toothbrushes are mainly related to the motor and battery materials, and the longer these parts can be used and repaired as possible, the better for the environment,” he said.
Thomas said toothbrushes cannot be recycled on a large scale with current plastic use patterns. Plastic toothbrushes typically consist of four types of polymers, making them impossible to recycle using a single-stream recycling system.
“Recycling must always take into account economics,” he said.
“Toothbrush handles are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is too cheap to be worth recycling. We need to move away from our dependence on plastic and find real alternatives to disposable and short-lived products. Bamboo and plant-based materials are a positive step toward moving away from plastic dependence. “At the same time, we must not lose sight of the potential impact of waste disposal from the process of creating new materials.”
Brett Duane, a professor of public and dental health at Trinity College and lead researcher on the report, said that even if plastics are recycled, there are problems. According to a study published in 2023, when looking at wastewater after the plastic recycling process, 13% of the plastic remained as microplastics.
“We need to find materials that can be grown naturally and recycled repeatedly so that the soil can be used for other purposes (besides growing alternatives),” he said. “Recycling materials rather than fossil fuel products is the way forward.” “He said. “I think there are still serious problems with plastic recycling.”
image copyrightSuri
Photo caption, Suri created a toothbrush that users can repair themselves.
I went to my local supermarket and looked at the toothbrush aisle. There were no electric toothbrushes that claimed to be eco-friendly. Only the Ordo Sonic Lite ($45) competed with the Suri ($97) in design. Most manual toothbrushes were made of plastic.
Two products stood out. One was The Humble, which sells two toothbrushes with handles made from a mix of plant-based materials and polypropylene and nylon bristles for $3.90.
Another option was a $5.20 toothbrush with a “100% biodegradable and sustainable bamboo” handle and nylon bristles. The $9 Tepe Choice is a manual toothbrush with a reusable wooden handle, replaceable plant-based heads, and bristles made from castor oil. This toothbrush “reduces plastic waste by 80%.”
Instead of a toothbrush with a reusable handle and replaceable heads (the type of brush that ranked first in the study), I decided to try a $9 plastic-free product. The results were satisfactory.
Of course, there are many better options on the market, but it is quite difficult to justify purchasing a plastic toothbrush, especially one that requires replacement of the toothbrush head. This also requires careful confirmation that bamboo or other non-fossil fuel materials were actually used.
The authors of the UCL and Trinity College report said that further research is needed as new toothbrush materials have come onto the market since the study began. What they focused on as the next generation electric toothbrush was an electric toothbrush with an aluminum handle, not a plastic one. In addition to its renewable materials and recycling features, what makes Suri’s toothbrush so impressive is its thoughtful design.
The slim aluminum body is one-third the size of a regular electric toothbrush. Bamboo toothbrushes also have a better appearance than plastic toothbrushes. If more brands refuse to use fossil fuels in favor of better materials and pay attention to creating products that are desirable in terms of the environment and design, the number of consumers who value toothbrushes rather than considering them as disposable items will increase. At least the country will definitely do that.
