(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
RECYCLING has come to toothpaste. That is, the toothpaste tube.
The recyclable toothpaste tube is made from High Density Polyethylene, the same No. 2 plastic used for milk and detergent bottles.
Recycling the tube alongside plastic bottles requires no extra steps – no rinsing, cutting or cleaning before tossing it into the recycling bin.
Many in America are not be aware of this. This is why a major maker of toothpaste is reminding consumers that certain batches of its tubes are the first to be recognized by authorities in the United States as recyclable.
Colgate-Palmolive has created limited edition “Recycle Me!” tubes with the reminder in bold graphics.
After 150 years, Colgate will fully transition all of its toothpaste tubes into the recyclable tube by 2023 in the United States and worldwide in 2025.
This is welcome news as, in America alone, a billion tubes of Colgate toothpaste are just thrown into the trash, eventually ending up in a landfill where they remain as pollutants for hundreds of years and more.
Colgate invested over five years to redesign the toothpaste tubes.
In March this year, the new tubes will roll out across four of Colgate’s most popular lines.
The Colgate-Palmolive Company is an oral care, personal and home care and pet nutrition company with a presence in more than 200 countries and territories.
Founded in 1873, Colgate now dominates a third of the toothpaste market in America. Its founder William Colgate first sold toothpaste in glass jars.
The aluminum toothpaste tube was developed in the middle of the 20th century.
The plastic tube that is most popular today came out in 1982. “The tubes were lighter and less expensive than the aluminum ones, and they were less likely to crack,” says Greg Corra, Worldwide Director of Global Packaging and Sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate’s parent company.
An open-source design will make the recyclable tube technology available for other brands to transition to the new product.
Plastic is not biodegrade. It disintegrates into microplastics that end up in soils, oceans and in food.
Some 300 million tons of plastic waste produced worldwide each year. Only 9 percent of all plastic is recycled; 12 percent is incinerated, a process that contributes to global warming. Most of the waste (79 percent) ends up in landfills or the natural environment.
The cap of the toothpaste tube will still be made from a polypropelyene, a type of plastic.
But it’s a start. “We’ve got 9 billion tubes around the world to worry about right now, so we had to do something now, but we are looking into next-generation materials,” Corra says.
The recyclable toothpaste tube is very much welcome indeed.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./PN
