Day 364 of our Green Year: No More Toothpicks

One day left! Almost over for blogging each day, but not over by a long shot for going green and continuing with this lifestyle. Thank you to Jessica from AM 1150, who was nice enough to do an interview with us today.

Now, back to our second last blog for Our Green Year's first 365 days. Today, we are banning toothpicks. Toothpicks are nice when you have something stuck in your teeth, but it is a piece of wood that is used once and thrown away. Doing some research about toothpicks, we found out that toothpicks are actually older than our own species! Apparently Neanderthal skulls have shown evidence of toothpick use. It is our oldest dental instrument but now thanks to Eco-Dent and baking soda toothpaste, the time for the toothpick has passed.

Toothpicks are made from birch wood. Birch logs are spiral cut into spiral sheets, and then those are chopped, milled and cut into toothpicks. We use them once and throw them away, and our world has lost a tree that can take CO2 out of the atmosphere.

So, Layla and I are banning toothpicks and instead using toothbrushes and Eco-Dent to clear our teeth. It is better for the environment than cutting down a tree, and our teeth won't suffer from the loss of the toothbrush.

At the event we were attending yesterday to help raise money for the Youth Center, we were given two tree saplings and some bookmarks that have wildflower seeds inside so you can put them in the ground and grow wildflowers from. Below is a picture of one of the saplings that we planted.

Day 332 of our Green Year: Eco-Dent Floss

Having clean and healthy teeth is very important. Clean teeth can keep bacteria from developing, and when harmful bacteria develops, it can cause problems for the body as the mouth is essentially the gateway to the entire body. One place where a lot of bacteria can develop is in between the teeth. To get those bits of food in there, you need to get some dental floss. So, who is to say you can't be green with your dental floss?

Most dental floss is not biodegradable, and while you think that throwing that little piece of dental floss away is no big deal because it is so small, think about if you floss every night, and then multiple that little bit by 365 pieces, and that by the number of years that you floss and then multiply that by the millions of people who use dental floss each night. It amounts to a lot of dental floss that does not biodegrade. Dental floss is made from teflon usually, and usually has chemical waxes on it to help it go between your teeth. The flushing of dental floss is something you shouldn't do, but which many people do, because it can cause blockages in the sewer lines over time. Many municipalities have regulations against putting dental floss in the toilet (but how can you enforce it?)

So, Layla and I will be using Eco-Dent Vegan Floss. This great floss is made from, as you guessed it, non-animal or chemical products. Instead, nylon is used and the wax comes from rice. Silk is not used because silk production sometimes uses child labor and it can be very painful for insects to have silk taken from them. The best part is that the packaging is recyclable and the product is completely biodegradable so that you can put it in your compost bin.