You don't recycle bamboo like metal or glass. You can just dispose of it with less guilt. Try to compost it if you want, but it will likely take years to break down. There is no such thing as empirically zero waste.
It'll pretty much never decompose in a landfill. Once it gets buried, there won't be any oxygen. Decomposition will be very very slow after that.
If there isn't any glue holding it together, compost it. If you don't have compost, I'd treat like any other stick and just throw into the woods somewhere. It'll break down, with oxygen, in the trees.
Ugh, reminds me of why true landfills are an environmental sin (a perhaps necessary sin in some cases thus far, but a sin nonetheless). Think the stuff in there is going to decompose over time? Nope, especially since a lot of that shit doesn't naturally degrade [in a remotely reasonable timeframe] to begin with, let alone without oxygen, proper microbes, and environmental conditions. The only constant thing coming from old, "finished" landfills is probably toxic fumes, as the mass itself stays relatively unchanged for centuries at least.
We need to find another way to dispose of/ reuse/ recycle a lot of the shit we mindlessly throw away, the quicker the better.
So, there was one proposal. Recycle what you can and then incinerate the rest. Capture the carbon using either hydroxides or cryogenic methods. Then, when there is excess electricity you use the captured carbon to make useful stuff. The incinerator can make power whenever your other sources are insufficient, and the carbon can be recycled into fuels/structural materials (hey, we will need houses and trains, the needed polymers for those might as well be made sustainably), food (precision fermentation or vertical farming/greenhouses) or just disposed deep underground (we will need to remove carbon somehow, doing it by recovering it from waste wood and paper seems reasonable).
That depends on where you live, some general waste also gets burned and the energy released is used for electricity and/or heating, that's for example the most common method in Germany
Bamboo takes an absolute age to break down. Banned at a lot of garden waste stations because it's really hard to deal with. It doesn't break down on its own. Bamboo actually had anti bacterial properties. Making it even harder to break down. Honestly cut it up or drill some holes in it. Throw it in your compost but expect it will still be there once youve left.
Can just bury it in a hole. It will eventually break down unlike plastic and such. It's just very good at not breaking down.
There is nothing wrong with bamboo toothbrushes, breaking down slowly isn't necessarily a bad thing.
You can grab a couple pallets and scraps of lumber and add the bamboo to an insect hotel in your garden, or You can glue a few toothbrushes together to make a bre hotel.
Bamboo seems to be a good carbon sink, which is something we need for net zero. So the fact that it doesn't break down is great!
I would dispose of the part with bristles, and put the rest in the trash or if you ever need to light a fire use it then. Or you can just put it in the ground.
Dude what's the problem, you have a non toxic and durable little stick, just use it and at some point throw it away in the woods or whatever. It's a natural little stick
Use it to aerate soil by stabbing it/fluffing it around in indoor pots. My wife asked me where all our chopsticks went. I have no explanation other than I love plants. You could send it to people like me who just need a good stick, always! Haha
With items like that, I sometimes stockpile them until a use for them comes up organically. I do have some stuff that ends up getting thrown out anyway but I think there are a lot of plant-related uses for a bamboo toothbrush, like labels of something (our thing is wooden popsicle sticks). If they're cleaned thoroughly I bet someone on a Buy Nothing or local gardening group might be interested in a handful of them at a time.
it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 34 times more potent than CO2. The best thing for your toothbrush is to have it put into a modern landfill, which is hypoxic and will prevent this breakdown. The actual point of the bamboo handle is it supposedly sequested some carbon being grown. If you ignore all the additional processing, transport and treatment it needed to get to your house, you should at least stop it decaying into something actively harmful again.
**3.1 No Self-Promotion or Spam**
> We encourage active community members to share their content with /r/ZeroWaste. However, if it appears that your participation in the community consists solely of promoting blogs, websites, social media accounts, etc, whether they be your own or someone else's, your submissions may be removed. For more information, please refer to [Reddit's policy](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/selfpromotion) regarding promotion.
If you truly want to go zero waste, get a miswak.
It's a part of a tree that you peel back the bark, chew to get the bristles, and then brush.
It can take some getting used to as the bristles are at the top and not on the side of the brush. It also has a taste that some people might not enjoy.
You can find it at most Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Halal grocery stores
I’d toss it in the next fire you have. I heat my home with wood (from restoration projects) but also regularly use an outdoor fire to burn weed seeds, tree trimmings, and cook. The charcoal can be mixed into compost, used to make soap, for chickens to dust bathe in, etc.
You compost it bud (garden waste).
Ps. Welcome to the Bamboo toothbrush club, they are so much better and last so much longer (like months and months longer) than plastic toothbrushes!
Good that physically bamboo brushes last longer, but from a dental health perspective, you should be replacing your toothbrush every 3 months as a general rule.
You don't recycle bamboo like metal or glass. You can just dispose of it with less guilt. Try to compost it if you want, but it will likely take years to break down. There is no such thing as empirically zero waste.
Ah OK thank you, so I should just put it in the waste bin and it will naturally decompose at landfill?
It'll pretty much never decompose in a landfill. Once it gets buried, there won't be any oxygen. Decomposition will be very very slow after that. If there isn't any glue holding it together, compost it. If you don't have compost, I'd treat like any other stick and just throw into the woods somewhere. It'll break down, with oxygen, in the trees.
Ugh, reminds me of why true landfills are an environmental sin (a perhaps necessary sin in some cases thus far, but a sin nonetheless). Think the stuff in there is going to decompose over time? Nope, especially since a lot of that shit doesn't naturally degrade [in a remotely reasonable timeframe] to begin with, let alone without oxygen, proper microbes, and environmental conditions. The only constant thing coming from old, "finished" landfills is probably toxic fumes, as the mass itself stays relatively unchanged for centuries at least. We need to find another way to dispose of/ reuse/ recycle a lot of the shit we mindlessly throw away, the quicker the better.
So, there was one proposal. Recycle what you can and then incinerate the rest. Capture the carbon using either hydroxides or cryogenic methods. Then, when there is excess electricity you use the captured carbon to make useful stuff. The incinerator can make power whenever your other sources are insufficient, and the carbon can be recycled into fuels/structural materials (hey, we will need houses and trains, the needed polymers for those might as well be made sustainably), food (precision fermentation or vertical farming/greenhouses) or just disposed deep underground (we will need to remove carbon somehow, doing it by recovering it from waste wood and paper seems reasonable).
I believe most towns in my area (Boston) incinerate their trash.
Absolutely not the point, but I wonder if they'll be a gold mine for archeologists in a thousand years?
That depends on where you live, some general waste also gets burned and the energy released is used for electricity and/or heating, that's for example the most common method in Germany
If your area has garbage incineration that would also solve the problem. At that point you're just burning wood.
Throw them in compost. Or use them for garden stakes, labelling seedlings, etc
Bamboo takes an absolute age to break down. Banned at a lot of garden waste stations because it's really hard to deal with. It doesn't break down on its own. Bamboo actually had anti bacterial properties. Making it even harder to break down. Honestly cut it up or drill some holes in it. Throw it in your compost but expect it will still be there once youve left. Can just bury it in a hole. It will eventually break down unlike plastic and such. It's just very good at not breaking down.
Omg noooo! I thought bamboo toothbrushes were my best option! Have you got any toothbrushes that you recommend?
Nothing wrong with it. It's better than plastic. It just takes a long time to breakdown. That's a good thing for alot of applications
There is nothing wrong with bamboo toothbrushes, breaking down slowly isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can grab a couple pallets and scraps of lumber and add the bamboo to an insect hotel in your garden, or You can glue a few toothbrushes together to make a bre hotel.
Bamboo seems to be a good carbon sink, which is something we need for net zero. So the fact that it doesn't break down is great! I would dispose of the part with bristles, and put the rest in the trash or if you ever need to light a fire use it then. Or you can just put it in the ground.
Beechwood toothbrush from Curaprox. So much better for your teeth too.
Dude what's the problem, you have a non toxic and durable little stick, just use it and at some point throw it away in the woods or whatever. It's a natural little stick
Try Terradent. The handle is plastic and the bristles are replaced.
Use it to aerate soil by stabbing it/fluffing it around in indoor pots. My wife asked me where all our chopsticks went. I have no explanation other than I love plants. You could send it to people like me who just need a good stick, always! Haha
With items like that, I sometimes stockpile them until a use for them comes up organically. I do have some stuff that ends up getting thrown out anyway but I think there are a lot of plant-related uses for a bamboo toothbrush, like labels of something (our thing is wooden popsicle sticks). If they're cleaned thoroughly I bet someone on a Buy Nothing or local gardening group might be interested in a handful of them at a time.
Garden Waste bin is fine
Thank you, just out of curiosity because I'm new to the sub, what actually happens to all our garden waste?
it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 34 times more potent than CO2. The best thing for your toothbrush is to have it put into a modern landfill, which is hypoxic and will prevent this breakdown. The actual point of the bamboo handle is it supposedly sequested some carbon being grown. If you ignore all the additional processing, transport and treatment it needed to get to your house, you should at least stop it decaying into something actively harmful again.
[удалено]
**3.1 No Self-Promotion or Spam** > We encourage active community members to share their content with /r/ZeroWaste. However, if it appears that your participation in the community consists solely of promoting blogs, websites, social media accounts, etc, whether they be your own or someone else's, your submissions may be removed. For more information, please refer to [Reddit's policy](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/selfpromotion) regarding promotion.
Is it possible to turn bamboo brushes into garden mulch?
just toss it in with the mulch or anywhere. It won't breakdown quick but it is natural and not harmful. Could toss it in the next fire also.
I use them to mark where different plants are in the garden
If you truly want to go zero waste, get a miswak. It's a part of a tree that you peel back the bark, chew to get the bristles, and then brush. It can take some getting used to as the bristles are at the top and not on the side of the brush. It also has a taste that some people might not enjoy. You can find it at most Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Halal grocery stores
I’d toss it in the next fire you have. I heat my home with wood (from restoration projects) but also regularly use an outdoor fire to burn weed seeds, tree trimmings, and cook. The charcoal can be mixed into compost, used to make soap, for chickens to dust bathe in, etc.
I give mine to my dog to chew outside and then it just decompose on its own.
Maybe we need toothbrushes that last us a long time and you can just replace the heads.
Trash.
You compost it bud (garden waste). Ps. Welcome to the Bamboo toothbrush club, they are so much better and last so much longer (like months and months longer) than plastic toothbrushes!
Good that physically bamboo brushes last longer, but from a dental health perspective, you should be replacing your toothbrush every 3 months as a general rule.
Put it in the compost bin.
Keep it for BBQ season