When it comes to living a more sustainable life, the first step is to make sure you recycle as much as possible. But it’s not always easy. Do you know, for example, how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK?
Nowadays, plastic is everywhere in our lives and homes, so it’s important that we make sure that we recycle as much of it as possible.
Technically, most plastic is recyclable, but that does not mean that you can put it in your recycling bin at home.
Especially when it comes to oral care products, such as electrical toothbrush heads or toothpaste tubes.
The good news is, they can still be recycled. Yay!
So in this article, I answer the question: How to recycle toothbrush tubes in the UK.
Why Can’t You Put Toothpaste Tubes In Your Recylce Bin At Home?
This is a very good question. And the answer lies in the combination of different materials that are used.
While squeezable toothpaste tubes are made of recyclable materials, plastic and aluminium, as a combination they are very difficult to recycle.
This is because they need to be separated first. But because they are fused together in layers, this is not easy.
That’s why a large majority of UK councils won’t accept these toothpaste tubes as part of their recycling programmes.
So if it is so difficult to recycle these tubes, why are they still used?
Keeps Toothpaste Fresh
The aluminium foil layer, which is sandwiched between layers of polyethylene and polyethylene copolymer, according to a project report by wrap, keeps the toothpaste fresh.
By blocking out UV light, which would cause the paste inside to get bad, the aluminium layer protects it.
At the same time, it prevents any aromas and fragrances to escape, ensuring that your toothpaste keeps tasting and smelling minty.
Then there is also the question of rigidity. You don’t want your tube to flap over but to stand tall on your shelf, right? Well, that’s also a job for the aluminium foil.
So why not just make the tube out of aluminium foil, I hear you ask. Excellent question!
Because that way it could easily be recycled. But unfortunately, if the tubes were made just of aluminium, they would likely break, and you’d get holes all over where your toothpaste would leak out from.
Or at least, that’s what I have read. But there are brands that do sell toothpaste in 100% aluminium tubes which are recyclable.
It’s much easier and cheaper to print the toothpaste name, logo and other information on plastic than on aluminium. Maybe that’s why big brands don’t opt for the aluminium tube, because it’s more expensive.
So the traditional toothpaste tubes need the foil to keep in the tastes, flavours and freshness, but the plastic layers make sure you can squeeze out the paste without breaking the tube.
But nonetheless, all materials are recyclable, so technically, you can recycle these tubes. However, you need special facilities that separate the materials first.
And most councils don’t have the required equipment in their recycling facilities.
So let’s get to the point and look at how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK.
How To Recycle Toothpaste Tubes In The UK: Specialist Recycling Schemes
We are fortunate that we have the required facilities in the UK to recycle toothpaste tubes and other difficult-to-recycle plastic packaging.
This means the answer to the question of how to recycle toothbrush tubes in the UK is not complicated at all.
TerraCycle has such facilities, and they have partnered up with brands such as Colgate and Philips, to create recycling schemes for oral care products.
This means that you can recycle items that are made of different types of plastics and other materials, even if you can’t put them in the recycling bin.
Even better: the above-mentioned schemes are free. Hurray!
And it’s also very simple. Just drop off your empty toothpaste tubes at one of the drop-off points, and it’s done. They take any brand.
Also, they don’t just accept toothpaste tubes, but also other oral care products such as toothbrush heads and manual toothbrushes.
Sounds great! The only downside is that the drop-off points aren’t that well distributed across the UK.
Depending on where you live, you might have several close to you or none.
We live rather rural and have no drop-off point anywhere near us. So we would have to make a special trip of at least one hour there and back, which would not be very eco-friendly.
TerraCylce does offer Zero Waste Boxes, where you can collect your items, then use the pre-paid UPS shipping label and send your stuff to them.
They have boxes for specific items, such as dental care products or an all-in-one box, where you can send them different things like toothbrushes, crisp packets, spoons, make-up, etc.
The drawback is that you have to pay for the box, and it’s not cheap.
Other Types Of Toothpaste Tubes
There are other types of packaging for toothpaste than the traditional squeezable tube.
One such alternative is the pump action toothpaste tube. These can be recycled at home, if your council allows them.
As a rule of thumb, if your council accepts soap dispensers they should accept these pump action tubes.
Some big brands use them alongside the squeezable tubes, so this could be an alternative.
Another type are squeeze bottles. However, I have not seen many of these around.
Both types are made from plastic only, so should be easier to recycle and therefore accepted by household recycling centres.
If your council allows soap dispensers, then they are likely to also take squeezable toothpaste bottles. But it’s always best to check with them first.
As you can see, it’s not that easy to answer the question of how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK when it comes to less traditional tubes.
That’s probably why not many brands use them.
Toothbrush Tubes That Can Be Recycled At Home
Now that we know how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK using specialist facilities, let’s look at ones that can be recycled at home.
I was really excited when I read about this! The manufacturer Albea has created an all-plastic squeezable tube called “Greenleaf Tube”.
Because it’s made only of plastic, it can be recycled at home.
This new tube is made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or plastic number 2. HDPE is a plastic that is widely recycled, hence why it has been used.
As such, there is no need to adapt the existing household recycling centres. That’s why the tube has been assessed and approved by both the Association of Plastic Recyclers in the US and RecyClass in Europe.
And many big manufacturers have already pledged to start using this new recyclable toothbrush tube, including Colgate, P&G and GSK. So popular toothpaste brands such as Oral-b, Colgate, Aquafresh and Sensodyne will soon come in a recyclable tube.
This means that most of the big toothpaste manufacturers will switch over to this new tube over the next few years.
However, in the meantime there will be a mix of recyclable and non-recyclable tubes around.
That’s a bit of a bother, but it’s fairly easy to know which ones you can put in your recycling bin at home.
The On-Pack Recycling Label will tell you that the tube can be recycled at home.
The various brands might put additional labels on their products to alert you to the fact that you can put them in the household recycling, including the symbol for HDPE.
So all you need to do is check the labels on the tube, and you will know how to recycle your toothpaste tube.
Alternatives To Tubes
It’s always good to know how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK, but what if I tell you that you could get rid of the plastic completely?
Here is the thing, the recycling process involved in recycling squeezable toothpaste tubes is complicated and uses a lot of energy.
As does the production of the plastic in the first place.
And even though by recycling the tubes we prevent them from ending up in landfill and harming our planet, it won’t work like this indefinitely.
Because you can only recycle plastic so many times before it loses its quality. And most recycled plastics won’t be recycled again.
Besides, tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, leak from plastic items and get into our environment.
Plastic is an incredible useful and versatile material, but it can also cause a lot of problems for plants, animals and humans.
Microplastics are everywhere, and they cause a lot of harm. They are even in our bodies!
So wouldn’t it be better to use other materials, such as glass or metals, which can be recycled indefinitely?
The good news is, that you can already buy toothpaste which are packaged in glass jars. For example, from Georganics.
And as I have mentioned before, there are also brands that offer toothpaste in aluminium tubes, such as Happier.
There are even alternatives to traditional toothpaste, such as toothpaste tablets, solid toothpastes and toothpaste powder. Find out more in our article about alternatives to toothpaste tubes.
These all tend to come in eco-friendly packaging, which means they have a smaller carbon footprint.
Often, these products are manufactured by smaller companies, who tend to have more ethical and eco-friendly policies.
We have quite a few of these companies in the UK. And it’s always better for the environment to buy from companies based in your own country.
Now that you know all about how to recycle toothpaste tubes in the UK, you can help to keep more plastic out of our oceans and off our countryside. Well done!
