Have you replaced your toothbrush yet this year? According to the American Dental Association, you should replace your toothbrush every three months, so now is the time! However, did you know that if you and every other American follow this guidance, more than one billion toothbrushes would end up in the landfill each year? Now, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t replace your toothbrushes, but you can recycle them instead of tossing them in the trash. In fact, there are many items in your bathroom that can be recycled! From toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes to eyeglasses and contacts, there’s a convenient way to turn this recycling dilemma into a problem of the past!
Within the local community, eyeglasses are accepted at multiple locations and reused or recycled through The Lions Club. Convenient options within The Woodlands include Walmart Vision Centers, Woodlands Eye Associates, and Woodlands Vision Center, as well as our yearly 3R Recycling Drive-Thru. Once received, volunteers from The Lions Club sort, clean, and distribute usable eyeglasses to local nonprofit organizations. Eyeglasses beyond repair are processed for scrap metal and glass, keeping them out of the landfill. If you’ve upgraded to contacts, you can be a super recycler too! Contact lenses can be recycled at Focus Optical, Lifetime Eyecare Associates, and Today’s Vision Creekside. These locations take any brand of contact lenses, as well as the blister packs in which they arrive.
Save your oral care products all year long for our annual 3R Recycling Drive-Thru, or if you’re eager to start recycling today, take advantage of free mail-in programs from Oral-B & Crest (a partnership limited to their brands) or Colgate (accepts all brands). Simply pack oral care products such as toothbrushes, floss containers, and toothpaste tubes into a box and request a shipping label online when full.
Please feel free to reach out to the Environmental Services Department at enviro@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov or 281-210-3800. We are happy to answer your questions regarding local recycling and reuse options!
Got more recycling dilemmas? Check out these previous posts:
- Recycling Dilemma #1016: Holiday Décor & Christmas Trees
- Recycling Dilemma #1015: Padded Mailing Envelopes – Trash or Recycling?
- Recycling Dilemma #1014: Fixer Uppers
- Recycling Dilemma #1013: A Guide to Storm Debris During Hurricane Season
- Recycling Dilemma #1012: Time to Upgrade? What to Do With Your Old Electronics
- Recycling Dilemma #1011: Batteries: Where Do They Belong?
- Recycling Dilemma #1010: Threadbare Clothes and Outgrown Shoes: Let’s Give Them a New Life!
- Recycling Dilemma #1009: Caution, that Pizza Box is Cheesy!
- Recycling Dilemma #1008: Plastic Bags and Film – Friend or Foe?
- Recycling Dilemma #1007 – K-Cups: How to Stay Caffeinated Sustainably
- Recycling Dilemma #1006 – Online Shopping: What to Do with All of Those Packages!
- Recycling Dilemma #1005 – Take-Out Containers - Where Do They Belong?
- Recycling Dilemma #1004 – Recyclables: To Bag or Not to Bag
- Recycling Dilemma #1003 – Moving Boxes and Oversized Cardboard: Give Them Another Trip!
- Recycling Dilemma #1002 – Got Stuff? Declutter Sustainably!
- Recycling Dilemma #1001 – Is That Recyclable? Cut Out Contamination
