When it comes to disposing of your bamboo toothbrush, there are several important things you should know!
Compostable and biodegradable products are a million times better for the environment than plastic ones, but only if they are taken care of and thrown away correctly. Like anything in life, most mistakes come from a lack of education or awareness. For that reason, let’s talk about how to properly dispose of your biodegradable Mi Amor bamboo toothbrushes!
The first thing you should know is that the bristles on the top of the brush are not biodegradable, and you will need to remove them before composting the bamboo handle. To do this, you can use pliers to remove the bristles, or you can just break off the head from your toothbrush. The bristle pieces can go in the garbage. Be sure that there aren’t any bristles left behind before composting your brush— no one wants those getting into their organic compost pile! Once the bristles are removed, throw the rest of the brush in where you normally put your biodegradable waste.
If you don't have access to industrial composters or an urban garden center collecting organic waste nearby, there's another option: just toss it in with your regular food scraps! Some people have home compost bins that are perfect for your brush handle. Bamboo is 100% biodegradable and will break down naturally over time.
Are bamboo toothbrushes more sustainable than plastic ones?
The short answer is yes, and it's not just because bamboo is biodegradable. Bamboo can actually be grown in a sustainable way. Bamboo is a renewable resource that grows extremely quickly, making it an excellent material for a disposable item.
Plastic is made from oil, which takes thousands of years to break down in landfills. Some plastics are made with oil from fossil fuel processes, spurring greenhouse gas emissions and climate change forward. Plus, a lot of plastic eventually goes into our oceans and harms marine life. Bamboo toothbrushes are an all-natural material that will not spend eternity in a landfill.
How long does it take for the brush to decompose?
It takes 5-10 years for a bamboo toothbrush to fully break down if you throw it into your garden. If you bury it horizontally in the soil, it should break down within 3 years.
However, if you’re using a home composter, 4-6 months seems to be the average decomposition time. We can even speed up this process by breaking the handle up into several pieces before burying it.
And industrial composters? They're much hotter and more active than most home composts, so they can reduce a bamboo toothbrush down to nothing within just a few weeks!
For comparison, a regular plastic toothbrush takes over 500 years to decompose. For even more perspective, in the United States alone over one billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown away every year. That is an astronomical amount of plastic waste that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It has to end!
Starting with one small sustainable step
It's important that you're mindful of your consumption habits and make an effort to reduce your carbon footprint. Reducing plastic use is a great way to start, even if it’s with something as small as a toothbrush. No one is perfect, and being sustainable can feel difficult at times. Using products made from natural resources like bamboo is a super easy way to help lower your carbon footprint and do good for the environment!
Let us know how your toothbrush composting experience goes!
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