Plastic toothbrushes are evil. We use them for 3-4 months (longer if you're as disorganised as me), chuck them in the bin and replace them with another. These toothbrushes will last longer on this planet than we will, and our children, and our grandchildren. In fact, most toothbrushes will take up to 1,000 years to degrade. Even then, the plastic will degrade into microplastics, which filter into the oceans and drastically harm our sea life and marine ecosystems.
These microplastics are carried down the food chain until they end up on our plates. If that isn't enough, the toxic chemicals that are used to produce these products, including the plastic packaging that encases each toothbrush, use oil resources which, in turn, produce oil wells and harm ecosystems, habitats and wildlife in surrounding areas.
If every person replaces their toothbrush (as recommended) four times a year, the average person would use 40 toothbrushes per decade. Across a lifetime this amounts to around 320 toothbrushes. This multiplied by our UK population of 66 million creates a phenomenal amount of plastic that is ending up in landfill, and worse, in the oceans. This is an unthinkable amount of plastic being added unnecessarily to the environment.
But! And this is a great but! This is such an easy problem to solve: get yourself a bamboo toothbrush! At the moment they cost only a fraction more than the average plastic toothbrush (and let's be honest, have you ever actually paid attention to what you're paying?) and they will degrade in an even smaller fraction of the time!
While my maths may be loosely calculated, the arguments in support of bamboo toothbrushes are watertight. Non-microplastic-infested-watertight.
You've really got nothing to lose; when the time comes to put your current toothbrush to bed, put it to good use in your cleaning cupboard and turn to bamboo instead.
Product recommendations:
Humble Brush
The benefit of these toothbrushes are that they are sold in Boots, and some H&B stores, which means you can just pop in on a regular visit to your local high street and save the energy of delivery. The company also functions as a charity that provides healthcare products to people in developing countries who wouldn't have them otherwise.
£4
Boobalou
Sell for a cheaper price of £2.64, so fairer on your purse strings. A lot of care is taken in its production, including heat treating the handle to protect from mould, and the bamboo used is sustainable and not panda food! Everybody wins! The website also sells a plethora of other eco-living alternatives, so you can fill up your shopping basket while you're there!
http://www.boobalou.co.uk/bathroom.html
Truthbrush
This one also has biodegradable bristles - which means you can throw the whole toothbrush in the bin without a second thought!
Pearly Whites
This has the added bonus of being a subscription service, so you don't have to think about when its time to replace, nor remember to buy another - they are delivered right to your doorstep. Negative side is a heftier price tag, but still perfectly affordable. £3 a month and a new toothbrush every six weeks, so £4.50 per toothbrush, or an upfront fee of £32 which makes each toothbrush around £3.50
https://www.pearlywhiteclub.co.uk/
More ideas and info:
