Over the last few years, I’ve become more conscious of the waste our family produces (or accumulates) when purchasing and using products that come in packaging. The bathroom is certainly an area in the house where a lot of waste is produced from the products we use for hygiene.
When Phoebe started Kindy, I noticed a sign on the front gate saying our Kindy was a registered designation for toothpaste and toothbrush waste. In the rush of dropping kids to multiple venues, I put it at the back of my mind.
On the weekend, Jacob complained he’d run out of his toothpaste and had resorted to using my expensive sensitive one. There were three empty tubes of toothpaste in our top drawer and I remembered the sign on the Kindy gate. Instead of placing the empty tubes of toothpaste into our bin, I took them to Kindy and they were placed in the recycling box.
The teachers were able to tell me the initiative was run by Terracycle.
TerraCycle offers a range of free programs that are funded by conscientious companies, to encourage the recycling of products that are deemed ‘unrecyclable’.
Our Kindy is taking part in a competition run by TerraCycle (with support from Colgate and Chemist Warehouse) to collect as much oral care waste as possible to be in the running to win a recycled community garden set.
Regardless of the brand, empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, dental floss containers and outer packaging can be recycled.
Last year more than 800 pre, primary and secondary schools and the community got involved in recycling their used oral care products. Over 200,000 pieces were recycled, which meant these didn’t end up in Australian landfill. That’s incredible.
My girls’ Kindy has always been community and environmentally focused. I’m so glad to have come across the initiative and will wholeheartedly support it.
But used oral care items aren’t the only items TerraCycle collects. Beauty product packaging, coffee pods and dishwasher packaging can also be recycled. I had no idea this type of recycling existed.
After looking through the TerraCycle website, you can search for different recycling collections. You or your school could also sign up to be a registered collection point.
The packaging TerraCycle collects is then recycled into new items. Here’s a video explaining the process.
So next time you have an empty tube of toothpaste, an old toothbrush or an empty bottle of cleanser, why not find a registered location to recycle these items?
Let’s prevent these items ending up in landfill and donate them to collection points where TerraCycle can repurpose the waste into something new.
