When I decided to start making the journey to zero waste last year, one of the first things I did was to start making my own toothpaste. First of all, what is this “zero waste” I speak of? If you are not familiar, it is exactly what it sounds like: a lifestyle that produces very little waste that must be disposed of. There are some great blogs out there by people and families who have gone completely zero waste (Trash is for Tossers and Zero Waste Home, to name a few).

Secondly, why was toothpaste my first step? Besides ditching plastic water bottles and bringing your own bags to the grocery store, it was a super simple swap for me to make. It only requires three ingredients, two of which are commonplace in most kitchens: coconut oil, baking soda, and peppermint (or cinnamon, anise, etc.) essential oil. It is so simple and it has eliminated the packaging waste of my old toothpaste tubes. I reuse the jars for my coconut oil to buy groceries in bulk (see Will Hester’s great post regarding that) and baking soda containers are recyclable. Plus, it costs almost nothing to make, when you consider how little of the ingredients you are using. And who doesn’t like DIYs?!

While we are talking about waste, toothpaste tubes are not the only waste associated with our oral hygiene. Think about how many toothbrushes are thrown away each year – 4.7 billion! While Terracycle does recycle them, it is their most difficult item to recycle. But there is an alternative: compostable bamboo toothbrushes. Their bristles are plastic, but the rest of the toothbrush is compostable or can be upcycled as plant markers in your garden, or a whole lot of other creative things. I use Brush with Bamboo, but there are several different brands out there to check out. This is another super simple way to replace plastic in your life.

Recipe:

3 tbs coconut oil

1 ½ tbs baking soda

Organic food grade peppermint essential oil to taste

Combine ingredients and mix in a glass dish. Store the toothpaste in your bathroom with a spoon for scooping onto your (compostable bamboo) toothbrush. If the coconut oil becomes too liquid, stick it in the fridge. If it becomes too solid, run the container under warm water for a few minutes and it will soften up. It may taste weirdly salty at first and it won’t foam like you are used to. You will get used to it, trust me. Just stick it out!

–Tess Dooley, Rotation Sustainability Intern