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Riled Up is a journal of science, the environment, exploration, new technology, and related commentary.  Contributors include scientists, explorers, engineers, and others who provide perspectives and context not typically offered in general news circulation.  For interested readers, additional resources are included.

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Hugh Bollinger
/ Categories: Uncategorized

Feeling Good About #5

I realized when I arrived in Santa Fe for vacation that I had forgotten my toiletries bag. Not a big deal, but there were a few things I couldn't do without for two weeks—a toothbrush, for one. The only toothbrushes they had at the natural food market, though, cost almost four bucks! But I bought it, instead of shopping around for a cheaper one, because this toothbrush was special. Special? Yes, and here's why: This toothbrush was made of recycled plastics, and not just any old recycled plastics, but #5s. You know number fives—yogurt containers, margarine tubs, the receptacles used for take-out, hummus, cottage cheese and other items. I personally have a stack of yogurt containers as high as my house, waiting for some second use, a pot for a starter plant or a way to send leftovers home with a dinner guest. And although my love of yogurt is great, my green guilt over this plastic stash is greater. Until now. This toothbrush helped to assuage some of that guilt. And the toothbrush itself is recyclable; it comes in a postage-paid vinyl sleeve that you can send back to the folks at Preserve when the brush has lost its mojo.

That's not all they do at Preserve. They make all sorts of post-consumer products: personal care items like razors and toothbrushes, kitchen tools and tableware. They also host an aggressive recycling campaign for #5s. With the help of sponsor sites like Whole Foods markets and community centers, people with yogurt-container collections can finally find a home for the dirty secret they've been hiding in a cabinet. And people who fling these types of plastics into the trash have a better place to toss them. Preserve also accepts #5s in the mail (although you have to pay their way) for people who don't live near a site. So I decided not to forgo my dental hygiene and buy the four-buck toothbrush. And it's not just my teeth that are feeling good about it. —D. Dion
Listen to the eucalyptus trees Green Grease
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