While more than half of the world relies on plastic toothbrushes every morning, the material itself is a high-order environmental hazard. No doubt dental care and hygiene are essential, opting for a change for a good cause is also an important part of being a human. Doctors are constantly addressing this hygiene by recommending changing the toothbrush every two to three months. Considering the global population that uses plastic toothbrushes, going by the changing methods, it would be enough plastic to decompose the earth.
Here are some strong reasons why you should stop using plastic toothbrushes.
- Toxic footprints are a danger to the ecosystem. The manufacturing units of such chemically processed plastics release enough toxins to intoxicate the environment. Some of the main products used for creating these plastics are rubber and crude oil, which have dangerous by-products.
- A major quantity of plastic that comes from toothbrushes is eventually dumped at landfills or near the ocean shores. This creates extreme pollution and hampers life around such places.
- In recent study, it was found that out of the 693 marine species that encountered plastic debris, 400 have suffered entanglement and ingestion. The overall threat from ingesting plastic can be catastrophic to marine species. Thus, plastic causes large-scale marine life and water pollution.
- Plastics that are used to make toothbrushes are usually collected from seashores around the globe. Such plastics or microplastics have doses of unhealthy salts that we digest every time we use the toothbrush. This can cause widespread digestive issues.
- A recent study also found that the plastic from toothbrushes contains substances that can be rather life-taking. Such substances are linked with increasing cases of asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity order, various types of cancers, obesity, low IQ, neurodevelopmental issues, diabetes, autism and related disorders, altered reproductive issues, fertility problems in males, and much more.
Since sustainability is a growing global issue these days, many organizations have started toothbrush recycling operations. The plastic obtained from the toothbrushes is eventually used for a better cause to create sustainable goods. People have started using aluminum toothbrushes that are not hazardous to the environment. This is high time humans should choose the planet over themselves in order to have a better future. The best part about this thought is humans have started to do so slowly. They are developing and using more sustainable options in their daily life.