A 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush? Now this is a tricky one.
The answer is yes, but you might not like what the options are.
You can either chomp your bite down on a stick of miswak repeatedly.
Or perhaps if you don't mind using hair that has been taken from a pig (who is probably no longer with us, sadly).
If you prefer a more standard brushing option that doesn't involve harming animals, then it becomes more difficult.
What does it mean to have a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush?
Let's start with a warning here: everything is biodegradable in practice. Yes, even plastic. Despite taking hundreds (we think) of years to do so, it will eventually break down.
The problem is that in those hundreds of years it takes to decompose, that plastic will break into tiny particles called microplastics and these can infiltrate the food chains for fish, animals, and now humans.
Therefore when we talk about a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush, we are talking about biodegradation in a reasonable timeframe, such as within a year.
Be very wary of other retailers marketing a toothbrush as 100 percent biodegradable, they often exploit the above to trick you into believing your plastic toothbrush will be gone in your lifetime.
Why is it difficult to find a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush?
A 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush is problematic because a toothbrush is made up of two (or in the best cases, three) parts. The handle, and the bristles.
The miswak stick mentioned earlier is obviously one piece, but with these you are essentially just chewing on a branch from a tree. Plus, these sticks are often actually sold in plastic wrappers.
Somewhat defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Now, with toothbrushes, bamboo is biodegradable as it is simply wood. Sustuff toothbrushes have an aluminium handle, which while not biodegradable, can be recycled a near-infinite number of times and should last for a long period regardless.
The issues with a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush are in the smallest (and most important) aspect: the bristles.
Why are toothbrush bristles not 100 percent biodegradable?
Toothbrush bristles need to be manufactured from materials with a lot of useful properties. Strong, hygienic and corrosion resistant are just some of the characteristics that we have become accustomed to and require to brush our teeth for at least a month before replacement brushes are needed. Unfortunately, these characteristics are not (yet) compatible with a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush.
The reason being that at the time of writing, there simply are not any synthetic or plant based materials that will naturally degrade in a reasonable amount of time.
We touched upon boar hair briefly at the beginning of the article, which are in currently making some (near) 100 percent biodegradable toothbrushes. We say 'near' because most, if not all, toothbrushes hold the bristles in place with small metal staples. These vary in material but will most likely be commonly recyclable. They won't, however, be biodegradable.
Boar hair is also non-vegan and less hygienic than plastic alternatives so it is more likely to retain bacteria. Dentists also say that boar hair bristles are rougher than nylon and may cause tooth enamel corrosion. We simply don't like the idea of brushing our teeth with part of a dead pig and don't see this as much of a solution for a 100 percent biodegradable toothbrush.
So what alternatives are there for a near-100 percent biodegradable toothbrush?
Just because the bristles are plastic does not mean they cannot be improved in a number of ways.
The Sustuff bristles are bio-based, originating from castor oil plants. This means that they can be renewably produced and grown (contributing to the reduction of climate-changing emissions for their manufacture), unlike petroleum-based alternatives that use a finite resource and generate more greenhouse gases in the manufacture process.
They can also be recycled with regular petroleum-based plastics without contaminating the recycling streams. At the time of writing, various Boots stores across the UK have partnered with Terracycle to accept manual toothbrush waste for recycling, including separated nylon bristles!
Sustuff toothbrushes have aluminium handles, which reduce unnecessary consumption and waste by lasting a long time - far longer than bamboo. Our toothbrushes also have bamboo heads so that these will biodegrade in a reasonable timeframe at their end of life.
However, like most things, we are not perfect. The bristles remain our number one problem to solve and while we view the biobased bristle material as an improvement on the regular commercial models, we are still striving for that perfect solution that won't leave its mark on the environment.
Sources
1. William Harris (2023) How Long Does It Take for Plastic to Decompose? HowStuffWorks, 8 September
2. Aesthetic Family Dentistry (2024) Bamboo Toothbrushes: Are They Smile-Friendly? Blog Bamboo Toothbrushes: Are They Smile-Friendly? Aesthetic Family Dentistry, 16 April