Toothbrushes and Toothpaste Tubes

  Oral care products and their packaging are made with everything from numbered plastics and nylon to aluminum and steel, and recyclers need to process each of those materials separately — which makes them a no-go for many local programs. If you’ve got the time to research what’s gone into your items and break them down yourself, Earth911 will walk you through how to do it. If you’d rather leave it to the experts, TerraCycle and Colgate offer a mail-in Oral Care Recycling Program.      

Hard Plastic Toys

  Unlike plastic products like food packaging, toys don’t tend to have recycling codes stamped on them (which means it’s difficult to ID their components, and most municipal programs won’t accept them). As the experts at Treehugger note, shelters, child care centers, thrift stores and donation programs are always in need of clean and functional toys; if your items are unusable, consider disposing of them with a Zero Waste Box from TerraCycle.