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Your Toothbrush Is Contributing To The Plastic Pollution Crisis
Plastic pollution has become one of Earth’s biggest environmental issues. Wherever you may be on the planet we share, it has become impossible to ignore the effects this pollution has taken to our environments. However, it may be difficult to ask yourself – Do I contribute to this? The simple answer is yes, but don’t freak out, let us help you end your contribution. In the United States alone, over a billion plastic toothbrushes end up in landfills each year. That’s over 50 million pounds of waste in plastic toothbrushes annually, in just one country! Each one of those toothbrushes will take 500 years to decompose. So, while seeming insignificant, something as small as changing the material of your toothbrush could help put an end to the plastic pollution crisis.
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Plastic Toothbrushes Pollute Our Oceans
As of 2020, 150 million metric tons of plastic litter our oceans and threaten our marine life. In addition, an estimated 8 million metric tons are added to the world’s oceans annually – a number that has the ability to go down with the help of environmentally friendly changes. A National Geographic writer wrote, “…plastic is essentially indestructible, that means nearly every single toothbrush made since the 1930s is still out there in the world somewhere, living on as a piece of trash.” Think about that. A toothbrush made in 1930 will still be in the process of decomposing in the year 2430. In those years, as the wind blows, along with bags, bottles and straws, plastic toothbrushes will find their way into our ocean and endangering marine life, unless we put an end to plastic toothbrushes.
- Plastic Toothbrushes Actually Drain Oil Supplies
An estimated 4.7 billion toothbrushes are made each year, each produced using crude oil as a main material in the development of the plastic toothbrush. Crude oil in my toothbrush? Yuck! This not only uses an abundance of the Earth’s oil supply, but these plastic toothbrushes prompt the development of new oil rigs which are potentially dangerous to marine life, ecosystems and habitats.
- Your Electric Toothbrush Is Toxic
In addition to being made from the same materials an everyday plastic toothbrush is, electric toothbrushes use batteries. Whether these batteries are rechargeable or one-time usage, they tend to leak battery acid. An estimated 15 billion batteries end up in landfills each year, corroding and leaking toxic chemicals into our ecosystems. This not only harms our land and animals, but it comes back around to harm us. Once the battery acid leaks into our ecosystems, we have no control over where it may end up – meaning that it could even find its way into our faucet taps. All that harm from a little battery? On top of the damage from the plastic? No more electric toothbrush for me!
- Are Bamboo Toothbrushes Better For The Environment?
The short answer is yes - bamboo toothbrushes leave behind a small carbon footprint! Bamboo toothbrushes eliminate the issues that plastic toothbrushes offer. Bamboo is a biodegradable material that takes, on average, 4-6 months to decompose, compared to a plastic toothbrush’s 500-year decomposition cycle. (Yes, really!) Bamboo toothbrushes also help decrease the amount of plastic polluting our oceans by eliminating unnecessary waste, and even have the potential of preventing new oil rigs for the sake of our ecosystems.
- Bamboo Toothbrushes Are Better For You
That’s right, bamboo toothbrushes are not just better for the environment, but they’re better for you too! Bamboo is antibacterial, natural material used for various purposes. This means that bamboo toothbrushes provide long-lasting protection against harmful bacteria and microbes to promote a healthier, happier and cleaner smile.
Sustainable And Unproblematic? Where Can I Get Mine?
