I’m guessing a fair amount of bad news appeared, during 2022, in the nation’s newspapers and on the nation’s news website, and on the Joe Rogan Show.
I’m only guessing, because I rarely read the news. Or listen to Joe Rogan. It’s too depressing. Or so people tell me.
But I learned about some good news this week… accidentally. I’m not the kind of idiot who goes around looking for good news. But when I was at the library, walking past the public computers, someone had some good news on their screen.
Apparently, Colgate has developed a fully recyclable toothpaste tube.
Not only has the Colgate research and development team invented a recyclable toothpaste tube — the company has shared the magic formula with other toothpaste companies. It’s quite possible that, within the next few years, every toothpaste tube in the world will be recyclable.
This is mind-boggling, considering that the population of the world just passed 8 billion. That happened on November 15, when little Jimmy Clydesdale was born in Booger Hole, West Virginia, to Martha and George Clydesdale.
That’s a lot of teeth that need brushing. The average adult has 32 teeth, give or take, and the average child has 20 teeth. (Little Jimmy Clydesdale has no teeth yet, however… much to his mother’s relief, as she has committed to breastfeeding. What with the shortage of infant formula and all.)
With an average of 2.5 people per household, that means we previously had about 3 billion non-recyclable tubes of toothpaste sitting on 3 billion bathroom shelves, getting tossed carelessly into 3 billion bathroom trashcans.
Assuming everyone is brushing their teeth daily? Maybe that’s a faulty assumption. Some of my friends have false teeth, so we probably shouldn’t be counting them. So maybe 2 billion tubes? That’s still a lot of plastic tubes.
We can imagine how guilty the Colgate company had been feeling, for so many years, about all their non-recyclable plastic tubes. But now they can feel great, because an estimated 10,000 of those 2 billion tubes will get recycled annually. (My estimate, based on my own personal recycling efforts.)
Colgate has also announced toothbrushes made completely of recycled plastic.
But apparently, the recycled brushes come in only two colors, which might pose challenges for folks who want to maintain exclusive control of their toothbrush… while sharing a toothbrush rack with three or more people.
“Is this my toothbrush… or your toothbrush?”
“Mine has the black handle.”
“So does mine…”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily Post does not recommending sharing toothbrushes, even if they are 100% recycled.)
But the good news doesn’t stop there.
The Heinz ketchup bottle is totally recyclable. Or will be, soon.
After eight years, 45 prototypes and more than 185,000 hours in the making, Heinz — the makers of my favorite ketchup — has found an innovative solution to create the first fully recyclable squeezy bottle, including the cap.
Not every household buys Heinz ketchup. It’s a little more expensive that the Great Value brand at Walmart, and the Kroger brand at City Market. But a press release from the Kraft-Heinz website said they sold one billion units in 2020. When it wasn’t recyclable.
The press releases didn’t say anything about sharing their magic formula with other ketchup makers. So maybe good news… but not great news.
However, if you religiously brush your teeth after using ketchup, you’re definitely on your way to saving the planet.