What to do with old toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and other dental waste

​By J. Blackwell 

If you live in Toronto, you probably already know that most forms of dental waste, like toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, can't go in your regular recycling bin.

Unfortunately, the city's waste management services don't currently have the resources to properly recycle these items. This means that most of our dental waste ends up in the garbage.

Given that most people use multiple dental-hygiene items (toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, etc.) each day, this amounts to a staggering amount of waste: In the United States, approximately 1 billion toothbrushes are thrown away each year, while it's estimated that Canadians throw away as many as 111 million.

So, what should you do with your old toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and other dental waste? Consider dropping them off at our next REmarket event! 

Starting at our January 25-26, 2023, REmarket, we will be collecting most kinds of dental waste to be responsibly recycled by Terracycle (don't worry -- all you have to do is drop the items off -- we'll take care of the rest!). 

Specifically, we will be collecting the following items for recycling: 
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• Toothpaste tubes and caps (discard any remaining toothpaste)
• Toothbrushes (all types), toothbrush heads, and plastic toothbrush covers
• Dental floss containers (can contain floss of all types)
• Floss threaders
• Flosser picks
• Soft-Picks and Stim-U-Dents
• Sulca brushes
• Proxabrushes
• Gum stimulators
• Tongue scrapers
• All other dental hygiene aids
• All outer packaging for the
  aforementioned items (plastic,
  cardboard, etc.), including boxes with metallic features

While not a type of waste related to dental hygiene, we'll also be collecting disposable razors and razor heads to be recycled.

You can also check out the graphics below for a quick visual guide to what we accept.
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• Plastic toothbrush covers

• ​Disposable plastic razors (all brands and types)

• Disposable razor heads/blades (all brands and types)

Did you know that packaging with metallic features (e.g., like what you see on boxes for fancy whitening toothpastes) is not accepted by Toronto recycling? These items usually have to be placed in the garbage, but we'll be accepted them for recycling through Terracycle. 

REmarket is held three times per year. This makes it easy to save up your old toothbrushes and other dental-hygiene items and drop them off when it's convenient for you! 

Full REmarket event details and guidelines can be found here. 

​We hope to see you there!