TerraCycle’s Oral Care Waste and Packaging Zero Waste Box
Environmental awareness around the issue of waste and single use plastics grows, but unfortunately, when it comes to oral care, plastic waste is unavoidable. Thanks to over 20-years-experience in keeping otherwise unrecyclable materials in use and out of landfills and incineration, TerraCycle’s team of engineers, polymer scientists and recycling experts have come up with a solution specifically designed for used oral care products.
The Oral Care Waste and Packaging Zero Waste Box is the first comprehensive recycling solution for hard-to-recycle oral care products and packaging, developed by the award-winning waste experts at TerraCycle.
Whether you’re looking to recycle toothpaste tubes and caps, plastic toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads which don't contain an RFID microchip, or interdental brushes and floss containers, the Zero Waste Box system is an all-inclusive recycling solution for all of those dental items that are typically considered “non-recyclable” through traditional council recycling systems.
The Zero Waste Box system is easy to use, making it the perfect option for dental practices looking to reduce oral care’s environmental impact for themselves and patients. It will help bolster a practice’s green reputation as a positive changemaker towards a more sustainable planet, increasing engagement with existing patients, and potentially gaining new patients.
Zero Waste Boxes come in three sizes, small medium and large, with prices ranging from £134.21 for a small box, which will hold approximately 250 waste items, to £263.71 for a large box which will hold around 1,250 items. The price of each box includes the cost of TerraCycle sending it to the customer, the prepaid shipping label which the customer then uses to send their full box back to TerraCycle, and the cost of processing the waste.
There are three simple steps to recycling used oral care products and packaging:
1. Purchase the preferred size on the Zero Waste Box website (click HERE) and await delivery. Readers can get a 20% discount using this code at checkout: DENTALREVIEW20.
2. Fill the Zero Waste Box with used oral care products and packaging. This could take several months depending on the amount of non-recyclable waste you need to dispose of.
3. Use the prepaid, pre-attached shipping label to send the box back to TerraCycle where it will be sorted and sent for processing. Job done.
The recycling
TerraCycle partners with a number of third-party processors who covert the waste into a reusable raw material. The waste is shredded, washed and turned into an agglomerate or pellets. These pellets can then be melted down and moulded by manufacturers into new products such as outdoor furniture, planters, and even playgrounds for schools.
Several practices across the UK are already using the solution. Bow Lane Dental, an eco-friendly and award-winning dental care practice based in Central London has purchased the Oral Care Waste and Packaging Zero Waste Box and is using it to offer patients a free recycling solution when they visit the practice.
Bow Lane Dental’s principal, James Goolnik, adds: “We let our team use the box, as well as our patients. Not only this, but we advertise that anyone – even people who are not patients at the practice – is welcome to pop in and recycle their toothbrushes, used toothpaste tubes, and oral hygiene products. We strongly believe in promoting recycling to the wider public and it has been a great success so far.”
For more information about TerraCycle, visit https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB and don't forget you get a 20% discount using this code at checkout: DENTALREVIEW20
If you are interested in introducing a Zero Waste Box to your practice, go to https://zerowasteboxes.terracycle.co.uk/
