Crest and Oral-B are now offering Recycle On Us, a free and easy program to recycle used oral care waste. Most municipal waste treatment centers do not accept toothbrushes and other oral care items, so the Recycle On Us program provides consumers an opportunity to give those products a new life.
How does Recycle On Us Work?
The program accepts toothbrushes, brush heads, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash containers, floss containers, floss string, and floss picks. Don’t worry if it’s not Oral-B — you can send oral care products from any brand.
Oral-B makes it super easy to recycle your toothbrushes. Instead of having to find a designated drop-off receptacle, Oral-B provides a prepaid shipping label. All you have to do is pack up a box with your used oral care products, print the free label, and ship it out to the recycling facility.
There is no weight limit to the box, and you don’t need to sanitize your products before sending them. Just make sure everything is dry, as UPS does not accept wet packages.
Why should I recycle my oral care products?
It is estimated that people will use over 300 toothbrushes in their lifetime. In one year alone, the United States disposes of enough toothbrushes to wrap around the earth four times.
Given that toothbrushes and other oral care products need to be disposed of often, it’s important to know how to dispose of them in an eco-conscious way
Conventional oral care products are a mix of different types of plastic, and most curbside recycling cannot recycle these products. Therefore, consumers have to seek out additional programs if they want to recycle their oral care products properly.
Oral-B’s program offers consumers an easy way to get rid of their old oral care products. All you need is a box and a printer for the shipping label. Other than that, the program is completely free, saving you the hassle of figuring out how and where to recycle specific oral care products.
Are there similar programs to Oral-B’s Recycle On Us?
Terracycle and Colgate offer a similar program to Oral-B’s Recycle On Us. The process is the same, with free shipping for the used items.
Terracycle’s program, however, has an enrollment limit, so you would have to join a waitlist to use the shipping program. Terracycle also offers public drop-off spots, which do not require signing up. A list of public recycling drop-off points can be found on Terracycle’s website.
Some toothbrush brands offer take-back programs, but they are typically limited in what you can send to be recycled. Preserve’s Toothbrush Takeback program gives you a $6 Preserve Store coupon for every six Preserve toothbrushes you send back to be recycled. This program only accepts Preserve toothbrushes and does not include other oral care products.
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Crest and Oral-B are now offering Recycle On Us, a free and easy program to recycle used oral care waste. Most municipal waste treatment centers do not accept toothbrushes and other oral care items, so the Recycle On Us program provides consumers an opportunity to give those products a new life.
Yes!We encourage you to send in all your used oral care products and packaging, no matter the brand. Is there a weight limit to how much I can ship through the recycling program? You can send in as much or as little as you like—there is no weight limit to the oral care products you'd like to recycle!
Regular toothbrushes, brush heads, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash containers, floss containers and floss picks can be recycled through TerraCycle or Oral-B's Recycle On Us program.
Several of the Oral-B Pro Series have a Lithium-Ion battery that lasts up to 14 days with 1 full charge. * This way you don't need to worry about getting your charger during your holidays.
100% of U.S. manufacturing plants purchase 100% renewable electricity and send zero manufacturing waste to landfills. Our localized manufacturing in the U.S. makes more than 90% of our toothpaste and manual toothbrushes for the U.S. market.
Chances are you've thrown out a few toothbrushes in the past. Were any of those old toothbrushes recycled? Don't worry if you weren't already aware… but toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and caps, and dental floss containers can all be recycled.
Do NOT dispose of in the trash or recycling. Rechargeable batteries are considered household hazardous waste. Items with the corrosive, explosive, flammable, or poisonous symbol must be dropped off for safe handling. Batteries burned in waste combustion facilities can release mercury or cadmium to the air and water.
National Geographic explains that plastic toothbrushes aren't recyclable because the composite plastic used to create them doesn't break apart efficiently, and chunks get stuck in recycling machinery.
Your toothbrush becomes less effective after around three months because the bristles begin to wear down. Also, bacteria tend to build up on your toothbrush over time as well. Therefore, to stay in good health and ensure you're brushing successfully, it is important to replace your toothbrush after three months of use.
Most Oral-B handles have a charging indicator to let you know its battery status or if a charge is needed. However, the Vitality does not—for optimal performance, keep your Vitality brush on its connected charger when not in use.
Oral B Anti-Cavity is used to help prevent cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease. This medicine can also help strengthen tooth enamel, remove plaque bacteria from teeth and gums, and decrease painful tooth sensitivity.
Oral-B has been part of the Procter & Gamble company since 2006. A company representative has stated that the "B" in Oral-B stands for "brush". In 2013, Colombian singer Shakira was chosen as the brand ambassador and spokesperson for the 3D White property.
Is Oral B an ethical toothpaste brand? Owned by The Procter and Gamble Company (P&G), Oral B is a well-known toothpaste brand which was founded in the United States. Despite its popularity, Oral B receives a below benchmark score within The Good Shopping Guide's Ethical Toothpaste Sector.
National Geographic explains that plastic toothbrushes aren't recyclable because the composite plastic used to create them doesn't break apart efficiently, and chunks get stuck in recycling machinery.
Not only do electric toothbrushes contain valuable materials which can be recovered and reused, but they run on batteries which can cause fires in the waste stream if not managed properly.
Colgate has partnered with recycling platform TerraCycle to collect and recycle toothbrushes, but in the last decade has managed to recycle only 5 million, less than 1% of the brushes it manufactured during this period.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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