World Centric’s Compostable Toothbrush Bites Into Dental Product Waste

450 million toothbrushes wind up in landfills every year in the US alone, says sustainable-products company World Centric.

The utmost natural and biodegradable toothbrush is a twig from the Miswak shrub and about which we’ve reported.

New York-based Lebanese designer Leen Sadder has even tried to make miswak twigs available commercially (read about it here). Yet it’s unlikely that Western society will let go of its colorful toothbrushes with convenient handles in favor of Miswak.

We trash our worn-out plastic toothbrushes in a minute, but they stay in landfills just about forever. To keep your teeth in shape and serve the planet, World Centric, a US-based company selling Fair Trade and eco-friendly products for daily food service, now offers a biodegradable toothbrush.

Made from a plant-based resin called Ingeo, the used toothbrush handle and carrier case break down in commercial composting facilities within 6 months.The toothbrushes don’t biodegrade in landfills. If you don’t have access to a composting facility, World Centric even offers a pre-paid envelope for mailing their used toothbrushes and cases back for them to deal with.

The toothbrush and case are certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute. However, the bristles are still being made of nylon. The brush heads are made to snap off and separate from the handle for disposal. World Centric says they are hard at work developing compostable bristles in the meantime.

You may find World Centric toothbrushes in natural foods stores, or order them through their website.

I’d like to see compostable toothpaste tubes, myself – filled with a non-fluoride, Miswak-enriched toothpaste. How about it, World Centric?

More on keeping things out of landfills:

• Dubai Dumps Its Dumps
• E-Waste And The Middle East
• Jonathan Bloom’s Creative Ways to Avoid Food Waste
• US Office In Jordan Gets Green Building Certification

Photo of compostable toothbrushes by World Centric.