Phillips has announced that manual toothbrushes can now be recycled through its free recycling programme for oral care waste.
Anyone can set up a public drop-off location by heading to the TerraCycle website and signing up to the Philips Dental Care Free Recycling Programme.
The Philips Dental Care Free Recycling Programme, set up in collaboration with TerraCycle, accepts oral care products of any brand. The programme first launched in 2020 to recycle electric toothbrush heads and covers, electric flosser nozzles, flossing sticks and interdental brushes, and dental floss containers. They are often made from a complex mix of materials which means they are not recycled by councils. This is because the process to recycle them costs more than the recycled product is ultimately worth, making them uneconomical for local authorities to recycle.
There is a network of 249 publicly accessible drop-off locations on the Philips Free Recycling Programme for the public to leave their used oral care products to be recycled, all of which can be seen on TerraCycle’s interactive map.
in line with its global environmental ambitions. The organization claims it has been carbon neutral its operations since the end of 2020. Through its proactive supplier sustainability program it believes it is significantly reducing CO2 emissions across the value chain.
Jess Gregory, Consumer Marketing Manager for Philips Oral Healthcare said: “Human health and environmental health go hand in hand. By looking after the planet, we contribute to the health and well-being of societies, as well as future generations. Circular design and circular product development are key to further improve energy efficiency our products, reduce materials usage, and meeting our ambitious environmental targets. We focus on using less, using longer and using again, for example by reducing the weight and volume of our product packaging and moving towards re-usable, recyclable or compostable packaging. By offering new business models, including lease options, we give products a second or third life. We are delighted to extend the partnership with Terracycle to facilitate an easy and sustainable way to dispose of used oral care products, preventing products from ending up in landfill sites.”