Don't Forget Your Toothbrush!

The forgotten toothbrush by almostmrsaverage

(To enlarge cartoon, just click on it)

It was too late!

Whilst unpacking our bags at the weekend, Mr A and I realised that somewhere between Wales and Suffolk, our matching pair of toothbrushes had gone missing.

I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that we had lost them or revealing that they were a matching pair!

But I could have sworn I'd packed them.

I'm pretty convinced I did.

Perhaps they fell out of the holdall? Who knows?

But whatever has happened, one thing's for sure, in that wherever they've ended up they will be hanging around forever.

We've managed to get by for a couple of days while I've been busy pondering the future of our dental hygiene and taking the opportunity to give proper consideration to our replacements.

The problem I have is that I hate throwing away used plastic toothbrushes and I really don't like the idea of them being sent to landfill. It seems such a waste, just to sit there in the ground for eternity. I normally keep the old ones for cleaning tricky areas in the bathroom but there comes a time when a woman has all the old toothbrushes she needs.

So before heading off to the supermarket, I thought I would do some research!

I quickly decided that the natural option just wasn't for me. Using a twig to clean my toothy pegs is not my kind of thing.

There was another option of toothbrushes which come with replacement heads. I like this idea but it still means the replacement heads will be dumped in landfill when their time is up.

I also came across the Preserve toothbrush, which is made in the U.S. I loved this idea because the manufacturer, Recycline, takes recycling very seriously. The handle is made from recycled plastic such as yoghurt pots and the company also encourages customers to post back their old toothbrushes. These are then sent away to be made into "plastic lumber", which is used to make benches and decking. This seems a perfect cradle-to-cradle product and definitely gets a big thumbs up.

Oh decisions decisions!

I would have really loved to have bought the Preserve brush, but even though it can be purchased in the UK from shops such as the EthicalSuperstore, I didn't like the idea of it being shipped backwards and forwards to the States, just in the name of recycling. It would be different if we could recycle our toothbrushes here in the UK. For a country that gets slammed so much for its environmental policy, the U.S. seems to have come up with some innovative solutions way ahead of our own.

Anyway, desperately trying to avoid landfill products, I was pleased to discover another option...

...that wooden toothbrushes are now available in the UK!

Yep, you heard me right and I hope you haven't fallen off your chair with the news.

I managed to track down the elusive creatures on the Cebra website, which is an ethical and fairtrade online store. These particular items are made in Germany from sustainable sources.

They were the most expensive choice, but even so I decided that it was the best option for us!

So, having ordered some yesterday, including one for all the family of course, they promptly arrived today. You can't get better service than that! The best thing is, they came with very little packaging, simply a small piece of plastic covering the bristles.



So I am now in my element, with one less product to throw in the bin. Ah, it's the simple things in life that matter so much.

But why such determination to buy a wooden one?

Composting of course! When we've finished with them, we can simply pop them in the compost bin. Hopefully, the worms will munch on them (after they've softened a bit) and then poop them out into lovely fine compost.

One thing's for certain, when I'm mulching the garden this time next year, I definitely won't have forgotten my toothbrush.

(Thanks to the lovely Jo Beaufoix for sharing the Toonlet gadget)
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