Innovative dental recycling program keeps oral care products out of landfills

A Wisconsin dental practice participates in an oral care product recycling program designed to keep toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss containers and mouthwash containers out of landfills.

Sponsored by Tom’s of Maine® and TerraCycle®, a company that provides free waste collection programs for hard-to-recycle materials and turns them into green programs, the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade® provides the practice's patients and the general community with an easy way to recycle oral health products. Toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, floss containers, mouthwash bottles and caps, deodorant containers and soap packaging, regardless of brand, are accepted.

Artisan Dental, of Madison, Wisc., has collected items for the brigade for more than six months and is seeing an increase in donations as word spreads.

Related reading: Tom's of Maine launches recycling initiative with TerraCycle

Artisan Dental earns money for charity by participating in the program. For each piece of waste sent to TerraCycle, the practice receives two points, which are converted into a cash donation to Feeding America. Materials collected as part of the Artisan Dental Recycling program will be recycled into a variety of products, such as cutting boards, trash cans and bath caddies.

Throughout the United States, there are 4,193 Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade® collection locations that have collected 294,780 products, raising $11,309.50, according to the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade® website. While Artistan Dental uses its points to donate to Feeding America, they can also be used for a variety of charitable gifts, product bundles or a payment of $0.01 per point to the non-profit organization or school of choice.

Practices interested in the program can visit http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/tom-s-of-maine-natural-care-brigade.html for detailed information on joining and collecting. 

To learn more about the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade®, view the video below: