No. it is not biodegradable. Flossing is an essential dental care routine for healthy and robust teeth free from plaques and cavities. But then, you’d need a string of dental floss.
However, most dental floss has raised a lot of questions in the mind of people with environmental concerns. How safe is dental floss to the environment?
Most regular dental floss is made of nylon material, one of the many types of plastic. And because nylon is not recyclable, plastic dental floss is not biodegradable, or if at all it would biodegrade, it won’t happen until after several hundred years.
The chemicals added in the production of floss to make it solid and easy to insert between teeth are linked to specific health issues, which means that there is a direct impact of dental floss on human health and the environment at large.
Therefore, even though flossing is an excellent dental routine, traditional dental floss is worse than you think.
Is dental floss eco-friendly?
Standard traditional dental flosses are not eco-friendly, but new brands are rolling out eco-friendly dental floss in the market in a bid to protect the earth.
So now, you can choose between the traditional dental floss or eco-friendly options.
These eco-friendly dental floss options are produced using a sustainable means of raw material sourcing and final disposal without any negative environmental impact.
The floss itself, right up to the packaging materials, is ecofriendly and provides the best alternative for earth-conscious consumers.
However, since we all need to floss at some point, there’s a need to choose between the ocean and the deep blue sea by deciding to either continue with the traditional plastic floss, which you know doesn’t degrade, or the plant-based floss option, which can be used by vegans and other people and can decompose or be recycled.
The last option may be to go with silk which is eco-friendly because it is naturally sourced and bio-degradable.
The best option is plant-based floss which everybody, including vegans, can use. However, whatever your choice is, being an environment-conscious consumer makes the task easier, right from using the floss to proper disposal of used floss.
How do you dispose of biodegradable floss?
Dental floss is not recyclable, and this is because it is a product of mixed raw materials, including nylon (a plastic-type) and chemicals.
But if these were to be overlooked, the size is way too small to pass through the recycling process.
And as such, it has to be disposed of in the garbage, which means that like other non-recyclable products, dental floss ends up as a pile of trash on landfills and spends so many years without degrading.
There is no unique disposal method except to dispose of in the trash can after use.
What is eco dent floss made of?
Eco dent floss is one of the eco-friendly floss made for you and aims to protect the planet.
It is a vegan type of floss made from plant-based materials such as jojoba oil, rice bran wax, candelilla wax, peppermint oil, and several other healthy plant ingredients.
It is coated with 100% vegan wax for extra hold. Eco dent floss is recyclable and comes packed in a compostable cardboard package to eliminate plastic packaging.
A pack contains about 100 yards of floss, which can last you for a long time before purchasing another.
How long does it take for dental floss to decompose?
Since most dental floss has a trace of plastic or waxed nylon in them, one would think that just like plastic, it would take up to 500 years to have them decomposed, but unlike plastic, dental floss takes between 50 to 80 years to breakdown.
Though not impressive, this could do well for a start. Until now, we are not totally out of the use of traditional nylon floss, especially since the natural and eco-friendlier options are still reinforced by adding plastic components or petroleum wax.
In conclusion, dental floss is available in biodegradable and traditional plastic forms, but the onus to save the planet lies in the hands of every one of us to choose the best option that not only helps us floss better but also leaves the earth safe for everyone.
