It's no secret I love cool new things. I love technology, exploration, discovery and innovative ideas that make life better. I also love things that make me feel a little less guilty about the planet/healthier/like I can do it myself.
I've already discussed extensively why less stuff is just good overall for your general sense of well being and your wallet. How about we talk about less trash?
What do you think of when you think of the waste we throw out in a day?
This is what I can list without pausing: peels, packages, floss, tissues, nails, hair, damaged goods, food boxes and bags, dvd cases, sanitary stuff, empty lotion, cream, chemical, cleaning bottles, paper towels, fast food waste, messed up tape, Saran wrap....and I stutter to a stop there.
Bascially, I always believed trash was a thing and would always be a thing, like death, or taxes.
Then I found this YouTube video posted by Seeker Stories in April of 2010, which interviews a woman who only has one tiny mason jar of trash to show after two years of life. She doesn't even own a proper trash can.
How does this even happen? Especially in a society that the video claims throws out 4.3 lbs of trash per person per day?
Well, as the title of this video proudly proclaims, "You Can Live Without Producing Trash." The video then demonstrates how by choosing only the biodegradable, or living without, you can extremely reduce your waste (possibly, by increasing your laundry and travel expenses to composting sites, but hey, there are always sacrifices in this war against pollution).
The thing that caught my eye though, was the toothbrush.
It's bamboo. Like legitimate, food for fuzzy black and white cuddly pandas bamboo.
I love this idea and its not just because it has to do with pandas. I just like the idea of using something that won't sit uselessly for the next thousand years but can be broken down and fed back into the environment that supports me. All relationships are give and take after all and to me natural stuff done right is an investment, not a luxury.
A.D.D. Moment: Someday, I hope they can invent a thing that reduces the trash already buried in landfills back to their molecular state. In a sense, reverse the landfill. Wouldn't that be cool?
So, of course I did my research and found a website called Woobamboo, and wouldn't you know their mascot is a panda? They specialize in bamboo toothbrushes for you, your kids, and your pets and also have their own biodegradable floss (which comes naturally waxed). Eventually, they also want to sell their own brand of toothpaste that comes in biodegradable plastic tubes.
Ok, can we just pause for a minute and appreciate the fact the humanity is cool enough to even think of inventing biodegradable plastic? Science is so cool.
While exciting as this is, I still had a few questions about bamboo toothbrushes. What are the bristles made of? Are they dentist approved? Can you recycle ALL of the toothbrush? Is it affordable?
The answers?
The bristles are plastic like the other store toothbrushes, except they are recyclable with your other plastics. It just requires some plier pulling to separate the bristles from the stick and then you can use the wood for something else. If you are sighing about how having to do one more thing is ridiculous, let me remind you that retirement and the usual resulting inactivity will kill you. Having some tiny, regular things to do keeps you active and alive longer. Enough said.
Woobamboo claims they are dentist approved. It's always hard to really know the answer to that. According to the video I previously mentioned, there were no dentist complaints about her use of bamboo toothbrushes and homemade toothpastes, but I doubt she's downing the thousands of pounds of sugar the rest of America is consuming from their trash packages. Considering that, she might not even need a super powered toothbrush and fancy fluoride pumped paste to keep her purely whites buffed and well.
As for affordable, one Woobamboo toothbrush runs at 3.99, a four pack for 15, and a family pack for 17.50. Which is still a lot cheaper than the 6-12 dollar single toothbrushes you could find on Amazon. Now I know you've seen the 1.99 brushes at your grocery store, I have one, and admittedly, they aren't the best out there. You get what you pay for I guess.
I'm excited to see what else people can come up with. I expect to see a lot of cool innovations to wow me for the next fifty years.
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