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The Life of a Toothbrush

Zero Waste Lifestyle

Last Updated on January 23, 2024

Every plastic toothbrush ever created still exists since their invention in the 1930’s. Isn’t that mind-boggling? 

the life of a toothbrush from www.goingzerowaste.com #zerowaste #toothbrush #bamboo #bambootoothbrush

The average American will throw away 300 toothbrushes in their lifetime. According to our current populous, that’s over 90 billion toothbrushes. 

With one simple switch, you can avoid contributing to that statistic. 

I am really good friends with the family who created Brush with Bamboo. I met Ro when I spoke at the Zero Waste Youth Convergence earlier this year. We’ve worked together on a couple of projects, but this one was the most fun! 

I present to you a short film about the life of a toothbrush. 

I had so much fun shooting this film with them! If you enjoyed this video, share it with someone you think would like it too. 

Together we can stop plastic toothbrushes. šŸ˜‰

12 Comments
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  1. Hello Kathryn šŸ™‚

    Do you know the lifespan of this toothbrush? Should I buy it in bulk?

    Thank you for this website!

    LG

  2. Hello Kathryn !
    I really like the video you shared.
    I was just wondering, what do I do with the bambou teethbrush ? (I mean when she’s old, where do I throw it ?)
    I’m actually using a teethbrush made with 70% of Ricin Oil and I only throw away the brush head.
    So what do you think is the best ?
    PS : Sorry for my not that good english.

    Anne-Laure

  3. So, I noticed that it says the bristles are still not biodegradable. Is it pretty typical of a zero-waste tooth brush (haven’t gone zero-waste yet, just doing research) to create some waste such as this one?

    1. The only fully compostable toothbrush is one with pig hair bristles. There are no 100% plant based bristles available, but BWB is pioneering the way! They have the most plant based content of anyone.

  4. The only reservation I have about these brushes is that they can only be composted in commercial facilities, which aren’t available everywhere. I choose the Preserve recycled brushes, even though they are plastic, because they can be returned and recycled in many more locations.

    1. That’s not true at all. I don’t have a commercial compost bin available to me. Once you pluck the bristles out you can put it in a yard waste bin or even use it for fire kindling.