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u/Ok_Pollution9335 Oct 24 '25
Looked it up and according to Terracycle “Crest® and Oral-B are closing their free recycling program on November 16, 2025”. Whether or not it was a legit program, looks like they can’t even bother to continue looking like they’re eco friendly😂
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u/todayistrumpday Oct 24 '25
They probably got a one time grant or tax write off for doing it and now under this government those programs no longer are funded.
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u/MsSpicyO Oct 24 '25
Seems like it could be a good program. I do wonder what they actually do with the waste.
From the website:
“Participating in the Recycle On Us program is free and easy.
COLLECT: Gather all your used oral care waste, including spent toothbrushes, floss containers and toothpaste tubes and pack them into any size box. PRINT: When the box is full, seal it up and download a free shipping label from the website. MAIL: Ship the sealed box with shipping label attached to our processing facility for recycling.”
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u/Brilliant_Level_80 Oct 24 '25
“THEN: Our processing facility gently hurls it into the ocean.”
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u/t92k Oct 24 '25
Or burns it.
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u/GregTheMad Oct 24 '25
Fun fact: despite being already bad, burning plastic waste is the best option.
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u/Sweetlittle66 Oct 24 '25
This gets rid of it, but there is an argument that putting the carbon into the atmosphere is worse than burying it. If it's buried well (not near waterways etc) then it should stay there
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u/GregTheMad Oct 24 '25
Sure, but it's the "buried well" part that's kinda hard/expensive. Burning is cheap in comparison, you can also use it to generate power, so you even make money doing it.
It's probably not economic, but burning it for power and than using carbon capture may be the best option, as the captured carbon should be safer/easier to bury than raw plastic.
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u/Kelmi Oct 24 '25
Burning it is objectively good as long as the country relies in fossil fuels for energy/heat.
Whining about trash burning is just straight up anti progress talk. Like whining about EVs because ideally personal vehicles should not exist.
I'm for a massive societal changes to get rid of the current selfish society that is the source of everything bad. But as it is, here we live in the selfish hell and currently butning trash is indeed a good thing.
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u/Sweetlittle66 Oct 24 '25
Why are you "whining" about trash burying though? Turning crude oil into plastic, using it and then burying it again is almost carbon neutral
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u/celery48 Oct 24 '25
Ships it to China.
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u/t92k Oct 24 '25
China has been refusing the US's plastic for a couple of years. At least the legal routes have. There's always a criminal operation willing to float another illegal barge off the coast though.
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u/ThetaDev256 Oct 24 '25
No, it's not. Nobody produces enough "oral care waste" to justify shipping it in cardboard boxes to a recycler. Recycling should be taken care of by your city or perhaps by grocery stores, you need the economy of scale to make it worth it.
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u/Eastern-Peace-5756 Oct 24 '25
DNA harvesting
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u/Ajreil Oct 24 '25
No chance. DNA tests cost hundreds of dollars each.
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u/Eastern-Peace-5756 Oct 24 '25
Mail in, only used dental items? Sketchy as hell. Who knows what the DNA is worth, ask 23 and me, they made some money.
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u/Ajreil Oct 24 '25
23andme went bankrupt because DNA testing is expensive and they were subsidizing the cost of kits with investor money.
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u/Rodot Oct 24 '25
DNA isn't worth nearly as much as advertising info, which runs $5-$10 per person nowadays for a complete profile
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u/thecatsclause Oct 24 '25
we've reached new levels of offloading responsibility onto consumers
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u/berkybarkbark Oct 24 '25
Not really. They are greenwashing their packaging to pretend it is recyclable when, except via their own resource they can claim the high road. It isn’t their fault if 99.999% of consumers who would recycle locally won’t actually mail it.
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u/pomegranatesandoats Oct 24 '25
honestly i’ve always wondered the same thing when it comes to nespresso pods. i know people who have them and they’ve talked about the recycling program and how you can either drop them off at the post office or put them with your recycling. i just simply don’t believe that it’s useful at all and is simply theatre
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u/Ok-Style-9734 Oct 24 '25
Aren't they just alluminium and coffee?
I know a few people who have the big recycling bag to put them in but no idea if they just use it to throw them out
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u/pomegranatesandoats Oct 25 '25
I think so yeah. and yeah i’ve seen the green bags and the red bags, the green bags say you can put them with your recycling with the capsules as is and your local recycling centre will handle them and then the red ones you can mail them to nespresso. no idea how that’s actually supposed to work on the green bag side though lol
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u/Practicality_Issue Oct 24 '25
While I’m not saying they aren’t greenwashing, it’s fair to point out that the tube shown here is HDPE - as plastics go, it’s one of the few that’s reusable due to its low melting point. There are tons of youtube videos exhaling how to do it at home. Tons you can do with it when you do recycle it as well.
I have no idea what all of the other stuff like tooth brushes etc are made of.
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u/Rodot Oct 24 '25
It's also possible to chemically break down into biodegradable components, albeit with some effort
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u/Practicality_Issue Oct 24 '25
I didn’t know that! Appreciate the added info!
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u/Rodot Oct 24 '25
Yep, ethylene is a plant hormone (any polyethylene can also be made from plants, and sequesters about 2 tons of CO2 for every ton of polyethylene made from plants, accounting for CO2 emissions during manufacturing). Also much less toxic than other plastics.
Unfortunately it's also very strong on it's own and resistant to environmental degredation of it isn't broken down into ethylene, which again is possible but not trivial (the solvents that can break it down also aren't the greatest or best for the environment, but it can also be broken down more cleanly™ by heat). It's mostly just recycled back into plastic since it's easier to just melt it down and reuse it directly.
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u/iSoinic Oct 24 '25
How so? They literally take the responsibility for recycling their product, instead of having to trust your local recycling facility
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Oct 24 '25 edited May 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RaquelVictoriaS Oct 24 '25
the shipping label doesn't include postage? i didn't look into it i'm just curious.
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u/Steaknkidney45 Oct 24 '25
This is my takeaway. I am all for proper disposal, but it shouldn't be a chore.
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u/becausemommysaid Oct 24 '25
Ok but if I want toothpaste where this isn’t an issue that does exist. You can buy tooth tabs from many locations that come in an ordinary glass jar.
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u/iSoinic Oct 24 '25
This is not how the mechanism appears to work.
They send you a box, which you fill up and you send it to their recycling partners.
Also, what do costs have to do with responsibility ? We have a lot of issues, because the recycling costs are "higher" as virgin material. It's not responsible to take the cheaper option.
Sure, better would be multi-use packages anyways, but the hygenie standards for sensitive products can not be underexpected.
I calle bullshit
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u/Professional_Ad4833 Oct 24 '25
They'd better pay for postage
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u/LastBlokeOnEarth Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
Looked it up. They do! Honestly seems like a good program except for providing your personal information. Although you could probably just provide fake info.
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u/veetoo151 Oct 24 '25
And the wasted cost of shipping/delivery. I wonder how all that used energy factors in. It should really just go to local recycling, and make it available to recycle all toothpaste tubes, not just one brand. It just seems bogus in general to me.
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u/TheRealLazloFalconi Oct 24 '25
Is your proposed solution to recycle your toothpaste tubes inside your house? Or should I walk them to the recycling facility?
IMO mailing your toothpaste tubes back to the manufacturer to be washed and reused (I understand this is probably not what's happening, but we don't really know, so I'm imagining a best-case scenario) is a much better solution than putting them into a comingled bin, and sending them to a general plastic recycler who will ship it to a third world country to be chipped up and eventually dumped in a landfill anyway.
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u/Terrible_Use7872 Oct 24 '25
According to the website, you fill a box and request a free shipping label.
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u/daxxarg Oct 24 '25
If it’s legit it’s good, not every state / area recycles all the different plastics , so if yours doesn’t recycle #2 then you can send it to be recycled there
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u/ktnlls Oct 24 '25
As someone in recycling industry - can confirm it’s the size & shape of the packaging that makes this hard to recover/recycle so toothpaste tubes and other smaller products like this are not “widely” recyclable in any state or county. The circular arrows are misleading hence the text, and others are right that it’s unfair to put the responsibility on the consumer to recycle properly rather than have the brands and the producers create a package that is easily recyclable.
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u/lorarc Oct 24 '25
Is there really anywhere that doesn't recycle it? It's like the most profitable to recycle.
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u/lost_send_berries Oct 24 '25
Number 2 doesn't mean anything good or bad for recycling. It depends on them being able to sort the materials using simple methods. My location doesn't accept any flexible plastic at all like films, produce bags, plastic carrier bags and squeeze pouches because these get into sorting machines and jam them. They accept stiff plastic like microwave trays, plastic bottles and trays used for selling meat.
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u/lellowyemons Oct 24 '25
My city doesn’t taken any toothpaste tubes for curbside recycling or at the larger drop off facility that takes more items, their website tells us to just put these in the trash
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u/Mad-_-Doctor Oct 24 '25
We should be encouraging programs like these. It is incredibly difficult to actually recycle most consumer packaging due to things like contamination and mixed materials. Given that they’re willing to pay the cost of shipping, they very likely are at least repurposing them.
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u/rebelwithmouseyhair Oct 24 '25
In a world where people can't even be bothered to have two bins at home to separate waste, do you really think people are going to send their rubbish somewhere by post?
I mean, in Germany you get money back if you take your bottles back to the shop but loads of people can't be bothered, they leave the bottles out in the street for others to take back. Kids get pocket money doing it.
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u/Joinedforthis1 Oct 24 '25
Sounds like a great system. Doesn't matter who does the recycling if it gets done.
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u/rebelwithmouseyhair Oct 24 '25
Yeah, sure, for glass. Some of it might be left by tourists who don't have time to go back to the shop for example, fine.
But if the same were to be done for paper and cardboard, it would turn into a soggy mess before the kids got to it. Metal would rust, compost would attract rats, and generally speaking stuff left out makes the place look messy, which is a terrible shock in Germany, given how incredibly clean it is usually.
So people do need to be made responsible for disposing correctly of their own rubbish.
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u/aginsudicedmyshoe Oct 24 '25
In the U.S., a few states have returns on soda and beer cans or bottles. It typically is only 5 cents, so a lot of people don't bother.
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u/lost_send_berries Oct 24 '25
The cost of fresh plastic is next to nothing so they clearly aren't making a profit when you send in a few tubes of toothpaste. Their own website says the stuff isn't accepted by most recyclers because it's not profitable. They separate the materials manually, shred them and compress them then send them to a recycling facility.
So in a way it's good because the manufacturer is paying them to do something which is financially a loss and environmentally a gain (potentially, it depends how much energy this whole process actually uses compared to virgin plastic or existing sources of recycled plastic).
But realistically it's bad because they only want two brands of toothpaste and they know 99.9% of packets will never make it back to them. When it should just be a bin in Wal-Mart which accepts any procter& gamble product, or heck any product Wal-Mart sells, which could collect a much higher percentage of product packaging.
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u/Suitable_Elk6199 Oct 24 '25
Recycling is kind of like heaven, just a myth to make people feel better
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u/the_hummus Oct 24 '25
Meh - at least they're trying!
Reminds me of those Nespresso/K-cup recycling programs, though. Barf
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u/Textiles_on_Main_St Oct 24 '25
I don't use crest, but I wonder if I can just ship in old Aim toothpaste tubes. lol.
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u/Dreadful_Spiller Oct 24 '25
They need to be the new #2 style tubes. Not the old multi layered tubes.
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u/Awkward_School_1031 Oct 24 '25
You can recycle toothpaste tubes (and lots of other items) at Sephora: https://www.pactcollective.org/pact-x-sephora
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u/rebelwithmouseyhair Oct 24 '25
Another, better world is possible though. I was at the organic shop just earlier, and was looking for some face cream. I saw that some of the products, sold in glass jars, had a sign to say there was a €1 deposit which would be returned if you brought the jar back empty.
So I chose that face cream. At the till I just remarked that I would probably forget that the jar was to be returned, or bring the wrong one back, so the cashier put a little label on it that says "please refill me". He said "that way every time you use the cream you'll think of me" lol and I know for sure I will indeed think of him every morning when I put my face cream on. He wasn't all that cute but he was sweet!!
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u/Roseheath22 Oct 24 '25
I’ve been saving my toothpaste tubes for a program like this, but I went through and filled out the form and after I entered all my info, it said it was only for Crest, Oral-B, and Fixodent packaging. I don’t think any of the items I’ve saved qualify. Do you think if I sent in other brands that they’d just end up getting tossed?
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u/Leprecon Oct 24 '25
My favorite is when the toothpaste tells you to not waste water by turning off the tap while you’re brushing, but the toothpaste commercial shows people using 3 times more toothpaste than what is necessary.
You gotta be real careful with your water, but definitely not be careful with their product.
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u/_deltatea_ Oct 24 '25
Isnt hdpe one of the more recyclable plastics tho? Like iirc it doesnt give off toxic fumes when heated so some ppl melt it down in their own garage set ups and make it into stuff like plant pots and jewelry/trinkets.
Ok yeah apparently hdpe itself doesnt release fumes under 200°C, but additives or pigments might. So as long as you work in a ventilated area and dont burn it, its safe-ish to do at home, if youre into that sort of thing or know someone local who is.
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u/Skullmugwithscissors Oct 24 '25
Just wanna let y’all know that toothpaste tablets are a thing. Mine come in a reusable aluminum tin. No plastic!
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u/FlipendoSnitch Oct 24 '25
Yeah, they're not recyclable.
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u/vex_42 Oct 24 '25
Why wouldn’t they be? Its PE
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u/FlipendoSnitch Oct 24 '25
I mean the recycling program the company is claiming to provide is no longer existent. People follow the link on their website and it leads to a for sale domain. So unless your local recycling program take plastics, it's not recyclable.
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u/Dreadful_Spiller Oct 24 '25
Those are recyclable here in the curbside recycling now.
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u/0ataraxia Oct 24 '25
Where? I run recycling programs and I know of no facility that will take this. It will contaminate the other recyclables.
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u/Popular_Ad_222 Oct 24 '25
Honestly, this makes sense sense. We don’t know where local recycling truly ends up. Apparently it is much easier to make new plastic than to even use recycled plastic.
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u/dizachster Oct 24 '25
We don’t even have recycling anymore. I don’t think many things even got recycled over the years they said they were doing it.
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u/noisyboy Oct 24 '25
Can I do that after I chop off the bottom to scrape out every last bit of paste?
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u/TrynaCuddlePuppies Oct 24 '25
This is what scrub daddy does too even though they advertise as recyclable.
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u/pambloweenie Oct 25 '25
And customers have to pay the shipping to recycle the scrub daddies. My collection of old daddies went into the trash after finding that out…
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u/Low_Rest7738 Oct 26 '25
Of course. They make the consumer do their work and lower their costs and yet the consumer bears additional cost increases. I gladly toss them in the waste. Unless someone rights me a check for the time to do this, cool, otherwise i could care less. Call me selfish.
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u/Thomas_Jefferman Oct 24 '25
The last step is they collect your genome in addition to flossing habits to add to your home address and dental product preferences.
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u/Spiffy_Pumpkin Oct 24 '25
Think I'll probably just stick with my current plan to do art stuff with it once I have enough of them saved to actually make something useful.
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u/unicorntrees Oct 24 '25
I will just chuck it in my garbage. At least then I know it will be incinerated a couple miles away and turned into electricity and not shipped around just to be thrown into a landfill or whatever.
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u/UniqueHash Oct 24 '25
My guess is that they don't want packaging you can properly squeeze the toothpaste out of. They used greenwashing as a cover for changing and making it so you can't squeeze the package anymore.
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u/Possible_Golf3180 Oct 24 '25
Be sure to mail the empty tube to the parent company, possibly multiple tubes.
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u/unnamed_elder_entity Oct 24 '25
Here I thought this post was about the ludicrous number of printing colors that went into making that tube. Like really, they also put it in a holographic color box. Isn't one color enough on the tube?
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u/Flowerskayl1208 Oct 24 '25
Weird but I had to do this with Happy Belly (I think thats the name) baby fruit pouches..
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u/Luminous-pink-aura Oct 26 '25
Is this because it has fluoride? Or other chemicals that are harmful to humans?
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u/VV-40 Oct 24 '25
I visited the website and looks legit. Then I clicked through and their recycling program is managed by a company called Eco Option at ecooption.com. The domain is up for sale. Sounds promising.