How to Go Plastic Free in Your Bathroom

We all know that plastic is a serious environmental threat. We can never get rid of it - it just falls apart into smaller pieces. A toothbrush a person used 50 years ago could still be sitting in landfill somewhere. Going totally plastic free in your everyday life and home is a big challenge - but making some simple swaps to reduce your plastic use is much simpler. Cutting down on the number of plastic products you buy is the easiest way to reduce your environmental impact. Here’s our advice for maintaining tip-top oral health without stocking up on those un-recyclables.

Try not to panic and implement a whole new set of routines at once. We recommend following one tip at a time and to make sure you stick with it. That way you can find out what works best for you without feeling overwhelmed.

1. Use what you have

Now you’ve decided to reduce the plastic in your home, the temptation could be to rid yourself of all of it in one massive cull. STOP! The only thing more wasteful than plastic is throwing away plastic that hasn’t been used fully. So work through your plastic-wrapped products at your usual pace, resolving to replace them with alternatives in more eco-friendly packaging once they are completely finished (you could also considering keeping the plastics and refilling them for continued use).

2. Rethink the toothbrush

Toothbrushes are traditionally made from plastic. Given that they need to be replaced often, they are a weak point in your plastic free bathroom mission. Bamboo is a great substitute for plastic and our Humble Brush Adult Toothbrush will help power your eco-friendly mission. The handle is made from 100% biodegradable bamboo, the bristles are made of nylon-6 bristles from Dupont, the packaging is eco-friendly, and the box and inside wrapper are made from recycled materials. They clean as effectively as a standard plastic brush and will last as long. But when it comes time to replace the brush, the whole thing can be recycled. The ideal start to your new eco crusade.

Another way to reduce your plastic use is to consider a toothbrush with replaceable heads. The Piksters Fatboy Toothbrush is more environmentally friendly than your average plastic toothbrush, forming part of Piksters Connect ‘twist and swap’ multifunctional system. The large handle - at 35mm wide - is great, too, for those with movement issues, limited dexterity or painful joints.

3. Plastic free dental care

Once you’ve swapped your toothbrush, further eco improvements to your dental routine are easy. Traditional flossing products can be hugely wasteful as they usually use a lot of plastic and need to be replaced every few days. Not so with The Humble Co.’s flossing products, crafted from plant based materials. Their floss picks are double threaded to ensure a super clean result, and they are made primarily from corn-starch and packaged in eco-friendly paper packaging. The charcoal version also comes with a mint flavour to wake up your mouth.

If you prefer a tape floss, you’ll love Woobamboo Eco Floss. The floss itself is natural, biodegradable silk coated in beeswax and flavoured with organic mint. It’s packaged in a unique plant-based plastic that converts into its own dispenser - eliminating the need for a separate plastic case like those found on standard flosses. The Humble Co.’s lemon dental floss is made from nylon and easily slips between the teeth, while delivering a zingy flavour to liven up your mornings. Again, the packaging becomes the tape dispenser, eliminating the plastic box.

Bio-based plastics are made in whole or partially from renewable biological resources and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional plastics over their lifetime. The TePe GOOD™ Tongue Cleaner is designed to remove bacteria from your tongue and is crafted from bio-based plastic to reduce your environmental footprint. It boasts three slightly raised cleaning blades to remove bacteria in one stroke, improving oral health and reducing bad breath.

We did try some toothpaste and mouthwash tablets for our store, but unfortunately most don’t contain fluoride currently. Our Orthodontic Therapist Veronika Bar-Joseph commented:

“It is recommended that people use toothpaste with fluoride as it can help prevent tooth decay and strengthen enamel. Fluoride toothpaste tablets are difficult to evenly distribute across all of your teeth - this means some teeth won’t get as clean as others. If the teeth are not properly cleaned, plaque and bacteria will build up.”

Veronika recommends only using chewable toothpaste tablets when you don’t have access to a traditional fluoride toothpaste, such as when you’re travelling. As soon as great tasting fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash tablets come to market, you can rely on us to try them and offer them here at oral-health.co.uk. In the meantime, Terracycle offer a recycling programme for oral care products and packaging, with over 730 locations across the UK.

We hope this helps inspire you to make some simple swaps to your oral routine. With modern, advanced materials and smart solutions from oral-health.co.uk, you can maintain optimum oral health - keeping both your mouth and the earth happy.