1000 Flowers for the Planet - #34 Use a Bamboo Toothbrush

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #34 Use a Bamboo Toothbrush

How many toothbrushes do you throw away every year? If you replace your toothbrush ever 3 months and live an average of 80+ years you could be throwing away 320 toothbrushes in a lifetime. If these toothbrushes are made from plastic, then how long will it be before they biodegrade in landfill? 1000 years? They say it takes 1000 years for a plastic bag. I wonder how long it would be for a hard plastic item.

I use a toothbrush made of MOSO bamboo which is an environmentally sustainable timber, cultivates at 3-5 years and regenerates naturally without pesticides. The harvesting helps control the unwanted spread of this fast growing grass into agricultural and forest areas. It is grown by local farmers as opposed to plantation farming. It should biodegrade in less than 6 months.

Sadly I need to put a caveat on this Flower post. I have learned this evening that ‘biodegradable’ is not what I thought it was when I stumbled on an article that explained that even biodegradable items such as food stuffs and paper DO NOT biodegrade in landfill. Apparently landfills are designed to keep out air, moisture and sunlight to prevent the spread of disease. That sounds good. But this means that the ingredients required to break down biodegradable products simply don’t exist in landfills. That sounds bad. Landfill, therefore, mummifies stuff. The article is at:

http://www.greenearthbamboo.com/Bamboo%20-%20is%20it%20biodegradable_a/141.htm

It looks like I’m going to have to bury my used and worn-out toothbrushes in the back yard.