The Dreaded Plastic Toothbrush

I love sustainability and so I occasionally get that ‘waste not, want not’ guilt trip.  I was needing to purchase some new toothbrushes for Noah and Isaiah. Recently I have been purchasing value packs as they better suit our tight family budget and so I was looking with Noah for some at Woolworths. This Woolies didn’t have any children’s value packs, however, this Spider Man timer toothbrush stood out to Noah and he wanted it. I thought that the actual timer part was a good idea, looked at the price of $5 and thought ‘wow’ that’s expensive and an absolute waste. Even just the plain Colgate children’s brushes cost just under $4 as opposed to a $1.80 Coles branded one. Toothbrushes are meant to be thrown regularly, and then I thought of all that non biodegradble plastic waste. Thus began my research into alternatives.

My first google findings came upon ‘The Environmental Toothbrush” designed by an Australian dentist. This toothbrush in made from 100% biodegradable environmentally sustainable bamboo and the bristles are made from biodegradable polymer. Even the packaging is biodegradable. Once you’ve finished with this toothbrush you can even toss it into your compost or just into the rubbish as normal. They cost $3 each and can be purchased individually for adults and children or in packs of 12. Not bad at all, environmentally friendly and economical. I was pleased with this find but continued to see what else might be available. 

 

The ‘Miswak’ or ‘Siwak’ was my next ‘out there’ find. It’s basically a stick from the ‘Salvadora Persica’ tree. Using a stick might seem quite primitive but it’s apparently more effective than our western styled wasteful plastic toothbrushes. You don’t even need tooth paste or mouthwash as the stick itself has all the natural ingredients included in it. More savings! This style of tooth brush is used throughout Asia and the Middle East, and this is the tooth brush the World Health Organisation recommends. It can be purchased via ebay or other resellers. I’ve just ordered some from ebay and will update you on how the family is going with it. I may need to convince Matt but both boys are super keen. Maybe Matt will be more of a Bamboo Toothbrush user. Here are some of the links I checked out:

The Enviornmental Toothbrush

http://environmentaltoothbrush.com.au/ (Free Shipping)

http://www.gogreenathome.com.au/envirotooth.html (Free Shipping)

http://www.urbanfarmerupnorth.com/enviromental-toothbrush—bamboo.html

Miswak Sticks

http://www.miswakstick.com/home.html

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1600-0765.2001.360502.x/abstract

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Teresa

Passionate about my family and the things of God. Love life, love creativity and all things good.

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