Recycle your Toothbrush!

susiestar

Roll With It
I recently came across a company called Preserve with the motto "Nothing Wasted, Everything Gained", They make plastic based products out of recycled items like yogurt cups. http://www.preserveproducts.com/

Their big push is on sustainability and recycling. They make a toothbrush out of recycled plastic for the handle with new nylon bristles. It is sold with a mailer so that you can send it back to them for recycling!!! You can even get a year subscription which will have them send a new toothbrush to you every 3 months with a mailer to send the old one back to them.

I think this is an AWESOME idea. Dentists want you to replace your toothbrush every 3 months. I hadn't thought about it, but that would mean an awful lot of toothbrushes in landfills every year. This is a way to help stop that.

The brushes are reasonably priced, about $3 each, or $13 for a year subscription. They also have razors that you can recycle, and they make kitchen items too.

One kitchen item is a paper cutting board. It is made with paper and tree resins and is durable enough to use for years, even to go in the dishwasher. The company that makes them, PaperStone, also makes counter tops and other things with the recycled office paper and tree resin. I have seen the countertops on some tv shows and it looks amazing.

Just thought that this might be interesting for someone.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I've been recycling toothbrushes for years but I don't send them anyplace. I use them to scrub jewelry, clean grout, scrub corners, clean up ugly messes, rub lime away around my faucets, etc., etc. Usually by the time I'm done they are worn down to only the handle.:tongue: I definitely appreciate places that recycle things but they can't have my used toothbrushes; I need them.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I use my old toothbrushes for cleaning as well. Even with changing the recommened every three months, I still wind up with one toothbrush for cleaning small places and one for cleaning big places (my mouth, LoL).
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Mine are also put to good use! Jewelry, humming bird feeders, bathroom and kitchen cleaning, fingernails. They go into the dishwasher when they're cruddy and get used over and over.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Hmmm...I hadn't thought at using them as nailbrushes. That's a GREAT idea! Especially since no one seems to carry nail brushes any more.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Of course keeping them for use in cleaning and projects is fine, but eventually they wear out to the point they are not much good for even that. I wouldn't send all of them in, but I really don't need 4+ toothbrushes every 3 months for cleaning. I would end up sending the ones I wore out or got some icky cleaner/solvent on.
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Does anyone really replace toothbrushes every 3 months? I sure don't. I'm lucky if I do it every 6 months. Seems more like a way to sell lots of toothbrushes.
they just need cleaned really well. in my humble opinion.
I use old tooth brushes for other things too.
I do like the mailer coming with the brush so you can send it back. I do that with ink cartridges.
 
Top