Before I reblog, I always do a little fact-checking and research first to make sure Iām not disseminating inaccurate information.
I found the above post to be a bit misleading. It says you can ājust burry (sic) the old brushes in the backyard,ā seemingly implying that the entire brush is biodegradable.
This isnāt the case. While itās certainly a good step to buy a bamboo brush rather than a landfill-destined plastic brush, even a bamboo brush isnāt fully biodegradable.
I found that currently, no one has been able to create toothbrushes that are fully biodegradable because the bristles are typically made of some inorganic material like nylon ā unless they use boar bristles. This doesnāt necessarily make boar bristle brushes the go-to option: some people who use these types of brushes complain of an odor, in addition to the fact that these brushes may not be considered vegan since theyāre made with a hair harvested from an animal.
Within the realm of bamboo brushes, one of the seemingly best options is made by a company called Brush With Bamboo. According to their website, the bristles of their sustainably-made brushes are made with 62% castor bean oil and 38% nylon, rendering them ābiobased, but still not biodegradable,ā since nylon doesnāt decompose.
So if you bury your bamboo brush, sure, most of it will decompose. But the bristles wonāt. In fact, most bamboo brush companies advise you to tweeze out the bristles before attempting to compost.
Sure, the bristles are small and seemingly insignificant, but you should know what youāre getting into before telling all your friends youāve got a fully biodegradable toothbrush graveyard buried in your garden.
Iād be remiss not to include that there is one option, and itās been around for centuries: the neem chew stick. Itās the only truly biodegradable option, since itās made from a neem plant and is a literal stick. Itās exactly what it sounds like. To use it, you chew on the end of the stick until it frays into bristles, then you brush.
The downside? You have to chew your toothbrush down before you can use it. And when it comes to brushing your teeth, the more inconvenient it is, the less likely you are to do it. And one thing I really want to emphasize on my own blog is making more sustainable choices easier, not harder.
Until someone creates the perfect toothbrush ā ergonomic, wallet-friendly, biodegradable, and not made from pig hair ā it looks like the best option on the market is a bamboo brush. Just make sure to tweeze out those bristles before you toss them in the dirt.
Have you seen any other notable sustainably-made or biodegradable toothbrushes? My ears (and asks) are open.