Around 200 million toothbrushes are discarded in the UK every year. They weigh roughly 30g each. That's around 6,000 tonnes of plastic that can't be recycled going to landfill annually. They persist for around 400 years.
Standard plastic toothbrushes are made from a mix of materials - nylon bristles, polypropylene handle, rubber grip - that are difficult to separate and therefore difficult to recycle. Even where recycling programmes exist, the carbon cost of transporting small items for specialist recycling often outweighs the benefit.
Bamboo toothbrushes are the most widely available alternative. The handle is compostable. The nylon bristles usually aren't. They work well but need replacing as often as a plastic brush.
Electric toothbrushes with replaceable heads are better. The handle lasts years; only the small head is replaced.
Suri takes this further: aluminium handle designed to last a decade, brush heads made from castor oil-based bioplastic that can be returned to Suri for recycling. It functions as well as leading conventional electric brushes and looks considerably better on a shelf.
The toothbrush is useful not because it's the highest-impact change you can make - it isn't - but because it illustrates the value of buying once, buying well. A £75 Suri brush used for ten years costs £7.50 per year plus replacement heads. A manual toothbrush replaced every three months costs around £15-20 per year and produces significantly more waste. The more sustainable option is also the cheaper option over time.
