How to dispose of your bamboo toothbrush

Bamboo toothbrushes are a great alternative to regular toothbrushes because they drastically reduce the amount of plastic used in the product, and are biodegradable, meaning they leave minimal waste behind once you have finished using them.

It’s important to note that how you dispose of your bamboo toothbrush will impact how quickly it biodegrades.

Unfortunately, even if something is made from biodegradable material, if it ends up in a landfill, it could take far longer to biodegrade than it should, or might not biodegrade at all. This is because biodegradable material needs the right conditions to decompose (usually a balance of heat, moisture, bacteria, etc.).

Burying items in a landfill, away from these optimum conditions, prolongs and even prevents the biodegrading process. If you can keep your bamboo toothbrush out of landfill, that will give it the best opportunity to biodegrade.

The best way to dispose of your bamboo toothbrush

There are a couple of options when it comes to keeping as much of your bamboo toothbrush out of landfill as possible:

Send the whole item back to the brand that made it (brand-dependent)
remove the bristles and recycle them via the brand that made them (brand-dependent)
remove the whole head and bin it with your general waste
compost the handle at home or via your local council’s garden waste bin (depending on your local authority)

You used to be able to remove the plastic bristles of your bamboo toothbrush and recycle them via a TerraCycle scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to still be available in the UK.

What are the bristles on bamboo toothbrushes made of?

The majority of bamboo toothbrushes still have plastic bristles, which are usually made from Nylon. This is because there isn’t currently a suitable, sustainable or ethical alternative to plastic bristles that provides the same level of dental care.

You’ll need to check with your local council to see if they can accept the material (and size) of the bristles as part of their recycling scheme. Alternatively, you can contact the brand that made the toothbrush to see if they offer a bristle recycling scheme (details of some brands that provide this option can be found further down this post).

How long will it take for my bamboo toothbrush handle to biodegrade?

Bamboo is a rot-resistant material, which is why it’s a good choice for making toothbrushes. As with any biodegradable material, how quickly it biodegrades will largely depend on the conditions it’s left to decompose in.

Home composting can take up to 6 months – breaking the handle into smaller pieces may speed this up.
Commercial/ industrial composting could decompose your bamboo toothbrush handle in a matter of weeks.

How to remove the bristles from your toothbrush

*Please check with the brand that made your toothbrush, or your local authority, for more details about how to recycle the bristles.

The bristles of a bamboo toothbrush are best removed by plucking them out with pliers.

With pliers

Avoid trying to remove big chunks of bristles in one go; instead, pluck a couple at a time and use a gentle rolling motion as you go.

You may find that the bristles are held in with metal staples, and that these may come out as you’re plucking the bristles.

As the individual bristles are very fine, you’ll need something to put them in for recycling. Check with the brand that made them or the organisation responsible for the recycling scheme about how best to store and ship your bristles for recycling.

Removing the head

If you are unable to remove the individual bristles from your toothbrush (or don’t have an option for recycling them), you can still keep the handle out of landfill by carefully snapping or sawing the brush head off.

You can dispose of the brushhead in your general waste, and the brush handle can be composted or repurposed. I’ve detailed some ways to prolong the use of your old toothbrush further down in this post.

Brands that offer a recycling scheme

Repurposing your old bamboo toothbrush

If you’d like to get a little more use from your toothbrush before disposing of it, here are a few ideas for giving it a second life.

If you’d like to sanitise your old toothbrush before reusing it, simply boil it in hot water for a few minutes first. If you’re going to keep an old toothbrush or two handy for cleaning, ensure they don’t get mixed up with your new one!

Cleaning. Old toothbrushes can come in handy for all sorts of fiddly cleaning jobs. You could use yours to brighten up the grout of your tiles or get the grime out of the nooks and crannies of your hob. You might also find them handy for cleaning plug holes, vents, filters, shoes, sports boots and more.
Gardening. Collect old bamboo toothbrush handles and reuse them as plant markers around the garden (you may want to scrape off any paint from the handle if you’re using them to mark edible plants).
DIY. If you have any decorating projects coming up, a stash of old bamboo toothbrush handles can come in useful as paint stirrers.