A tube of toothpaste is not the easiest thing to recycle. But what if you didn’t have to worry about recycling the tubes at all? The Kind Lab, a company based out of Los Angeles, has officially launched a zero-waste toothpaste that doesn’t come in a plastic tube. The company calls its product Bite Toothpaste Bits, and it could revolutionize the way we brush our teeth.
The Kind Lab, a company started by Lindsay McCormick, makes the toothpaste tablets out of natural ingredients by hand. These plant-based components have been tested in clinical trials and performed well in both cleaning and protecting teeth. The company does not include fluoride in its toothpaste, making it safe for children to use, too.
Bite Toothpaste Bits are molded into tablets and packed in a small jar. When you’re ready to brush your teeth, you simply pop a tablet in your mouth, wet your toothbrush and start brushing. The tablet dissolves into a paste as you brush and completely eliminates the need for the traditional toothpaste tube.
The company has decided to go with a subscription-based approach for the Bite Toothpaste Bits, which means you can sign up for regular refills of toothpaste. The tablets currently come in two different flavors: mint and mint charcoal. The bottle is reused every month, and the refill tablets arrive in 100 percent biodegradable cellulose, which also cuts down on waste. The bits are ideal to bring along while traveling.
Following a demonstration video that went viral, The Kind Lab has received so much attention that new orders can take three to six weeks to ship. Overall, the wait can be worthwhile, as Bite is an innovative solution to a growing problem of recycling old toothpaste tubes. It is estimated that people discard around 1 billion tubes of toothpaste every year, but these toothpaste tablets offer a zero-waste alternative.
Images via Lindsay McCormick