Each year, millions of toothbrushes are discarded, making them one of the largest contributors to plastic waste globally. In fact, over 1 billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown away annually in the United States alone. That's enough toothbrushes to circle the Earth over four times contributing to over 50 million pounds of waste in landfills.
But it doesn’t stop there—on a global scale, the figure jumps to approximately 3 billion toothbrushes discarded every year. With a lifespan of a few short months, these toothbrushes end up in landfills and oceans, adding to the mounting environmental crisis.
What makes this problem even more alarming is that plastic toothbrushes can take nearly 500 years to decompose, meaning the first plastic toothbrushes ever produced—introduced in the 1930s—are still lingering in our environment today. This prolonged decomposition period contributes significantly to the pollution of landfills and oceans, where they not only take up space but also release toxic chemicals as they slowly break down.