Recycling Dilemma – Oral Care & Eyeglasses

Have you replaced your toothbrush yet this year? According to the American Dental Association, you should replace your toothbrush every three months, so now is the time! However, did you know that if you and every other American follow this guidance, more than one billion toothbrushes would end up in the landfill each year? Now, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t replace your toothbrushes, but you can recycle them instead of tossing them in the trash. In fact, there are many items in your bathroom that can be recycled! From toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes to eyeglasses and contacts, there’s a convenient way to turn this recycling dilemma into a problem of the past!

Cardboard eyeglasses collection box for The Lions Club

Within the local community, eyeglasses are accepted at multiple locations and reused or recycled through The Lions Club. Convenient options within The Woodlands include Walmart Vision Centers, Woodlands Eye Associates, and Woodlands Vision Center, as well as our yearly Recycling Drive-Thru each March. Once received, volunteers from The Lions Club sort, clean, and distribute usable eyeglasses to local nonprofit organizations. Eyeglasses beyond repair are processed for scrap metal and glass, keeping them out of the landfill. If you’ve upgraded to contacts, you can be a super recycler too! Contact lenses can be recycled at Focus Optical, Lifetime Eyecare Associates, and Today’s Vision Creekside. These locations take any brand of contact lenses, as well as the blister packs in which they arrive.

Toothbrush and toothpaste in a glass cup

Save your oral care products all year long for our annual Recycling Drive-Thru, or if you’re eager to start recycling today, take advantage of free mail-in programs from Oral-B & Crest (a partnership limited to their brands) or Colgate (accepts all brands). To get started, pack oral care products such as toothbrushes, floss containers, and toothpaste tubes into a box and request a shipping label online when full.

Recycling can be easy with our new Recycle Right online widget! Simply type in the item you’d like to dispose of, and we’ll tell you exactly what to do with it.