Small Changes Add Up To Something Monumental
Imagine every one of the 66 million people in the UK each using at least 4 plastic toothbrushes every year – that’s potentially 264 million plastic toothbrushes that end up in landfill, an incinerator or the environment. 264 million plastic toothbrushes, can you imagine that?
It might seem like an insignificant change for you, lovely reader, one person, to switch from using a plastic toothbrush to a bamboo toothbrush. We aren’t really acting only as individuals though, we’re acting as a movement of people, a movement of millions, coming together to improve our world in small, manageable ways. What we must remember is that when we all come together to make small reductions in our plastic consumption, it adds up to something monumental – we can affect the system!
Plastic Causes Emissions
Plastic production is massive contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Bamboo toothbrushes have an impact on climate change 6 times lower than normal plastic toothbrushes and 11 times lower than electric toothbrushes.
Plastic is Devastating Our Oceans
You’ve probably seen the TV show Blue Planet featuring David Attenborough, highlighting the terrifying results for our oceans of our unyielding obsession with plastic. Plastics in the ocean harm ocean wildlife when they become entangled in it or eat it, and this can lead to death. There is so much plastic in the ocean now that, combined with our decimation of ocean life through commercial fishing, it’s estimated that there is likely to be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2048!
Plastic Doesn’t Biodegrade
Most plastic is made from petroleum and and it’s almost impossible for bacteria to break it down as they would with organic material. Instead, photodegredation breaks the bonds holding the chain of carbon together, fracturing larger pieces of plastic into smaller and smaller particles, which eventually become micro or nano plastics over time. Once plastic has entered the sea, and been subjected to UV rays, it starts to break down into smaller particles and is easily ingested by ocean wildlife, moving up the food chain from one animal to another. When left in landfill, with no UV light to photodegrade the plastic, plastic will stay intact. This means that every plastic toothbrush you have used in your lifetime that has been put into landfill still exists today.
Biodegradable Plastic is Not a Solution
‘Biodegradable plastic’ is really only biodegradable in very specific conditions of industrial processing and incineration. If it ends up in landfill or in the environment it may not break down very well, very quickly, or at all. This means that if so called ‘biodegradable plastics’ end up in the ocean, though they may break down faster than fossil fuel derived plastics, they will not break down sufficiently fast to prevent animal deaths once ingested, and can still lead to entanglement and animal harm. One study has shown that once ingested by sea turtles, for example, biodegradable plastic does break down slightly faster than non-biodegradable plastic in the turtle’s stomach, but not fast enough to prevent death. If people believe that plastic they buy is biodegradable and ‘good’ for the environment when it really isn’t, this trust in the material breaking down may lead consumers to purchase even more plastic than before, and perhaps to dispose of plastic waste more carelessly. In this way biodegradable plastic can in fact be worse for the environment! It’s a much better idea to opt for alternative materials that are biodegradable if possible.Biodegradable plastic, like non-biodegradable plastic, should be consumed, if at all, in moderation and only when absolutely necessary.
Plastic is Made from Oil
Because plastic is made from chemicals derived from oil, when we buy plastic goods we are supporting the fossil fuel industry. Fossil fuels are the leading cause of catastrophic climate change, and as long as the industry survives, we will be unable to prevent the worse case climate change scenarios. Dangerous greenhouse gasses are released during drilling for oil and gas extraction, during plastic production and manufacturing processes, and also at the end of the plastic products lifecycle during incineration and when degrading in the ocean. The more plastic is made, the more oil is required.
The fossil fuel industry has built demand for plastic into it’s business model and it is expected that the the oil industry will increase it’s production of plastic in order to keep generating sales as the industry adapts to competition from greener alternatives and new technology. In the coming years experts expect that plastic will take over from fuel as the largest sector of sales for the industry – if we don’t disrupt the industry, that is!!
Bamboo is a Renewable and Biodegradable Resource
Bamboo is fabulous resource because, unlike plastic production which emits a terribly dangerous quantity of greenhouse gas, bamboo absorbs CO2 as it grows. And it grows incredibly fast – in fact, it’s one of the fastest growing plants on earth and absorbs twice as much carbon as trees! It’s growth rate means it’s easily renewable too.
Bamboo Toothbrushes Clean Your Teeth Effectively
Dentists recommend that the best current toothbrush option to reduce your environmental impact while keeping your teeth and gums clean and healthy is to opt for a bamboo toothbrush. You can purchase your pack of Peach & Bumble bamboo toothbrushes here.
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