The Environmental Toothbrush

Do you know how many people live in the UK now? In 2013 the figure was approximately 63.7 million. Now let’s assume that 400'000 of those are babies who don’t have teeth yet (bear with me all will become clear!). Assuming the remaining population change their toothbrushes 4 times a year following national guidelines, that means that in the UK we get through over 250 million toothbrushes a year. All of which end up in landfill. The plastic they’re made of won’t break down in our lifetime, nor within the lifetime of those aforementioned babies. Imagine that on a global scale.

I know you are all going to have sleepless nights worrying about this now, so fear not, I offer you a solution:

The Environmental Toothbrush

 

Invented by an Australian dentist, this Christmas I was given an Environmental Toothbrush (as you can see I get such exciting presents!). Made from bamboo, a natural cellulose fibre, it is biodegradable, environmentally sustainable, and does not pollute the environment. The growth rate and self-renewing ability of bamboo means that deforestation is not necessary either and another plus is that even the packaging is bio-degradable. It is available in a variety of sizes and for children too, from Amazon for £2.85 (Feb 2014) - a traditional toothbrush is around the same price. I for one intend writing to my chemist and supermarket to ask them to consider stocking them too.

My eco-friendly pearly whites are creating a glowing smile as I envisage the puzzled expressions of the manufacturers of The ET, as they contemplate their sales figures for the UK at the end of this year; as I just know you are all going to buy one now. My smile is even brighter as I imagine the panic of my friends and family reading this, whenever I come visiting I'll be asking to use your “little room”!

A version of this article is in The Record February 2014 (Reigate Park Church magazine) http://www.reigateparkchurch.org/