Manually powered toothbrush

Appendix B: Interview with Brush with Bamboo Founder, Ro Kumar

Vs.

Bamboo brush can be reused and recycled, is biodegradable.

Life Cycle Inventory
Scope & Definition
Contents

 Introduction
 Functional Unit
 System boundaries: scope & definition
 Life Cycle Inventory
 Process Flow
 Data
 Use & disposal
 Conclusions
 References & appendices

Distribution
Energy to move 1 toothbrush to Honolulu, HI:

 Oral-B: ~0.006kWh (long-haul truck, cargo ship)

 Bamboo: 0.5kWh (if all jet); 0.115 if ship then jet

Functional unit = 1 toothbrush

Conclusions
Process Flow
Brush with

Bamboo

Oral B
Complete
Appendix A: Energy to Distribute Calculations

References

Plastic toothbrush can be reused as a cleaning tool, but is

ultimately disposed of in a landfill
Toothbrush Use & Disposal

 To perform LCAs on two manual toothbrushes and compare: one

conventional Oral B Complete, and one alternative Bamboo Brush

Kristen Racki and Cyrus Howe

GLSD 6330: Industrial Ecology

Dr. Regina Ostergard-Klem

February 2014

Data: LCA Impact of injection molding

LCA of a toothbrush
Toothbrush Life Cycle Analysis
"76.0 percent small-sized rigid plastic parts from 0.05 to 15 grams
each, 21.4 percent medium-sized parts 15 to 50 grams, 2.5 percent
large-sized parts 50 to 150 grams each, and less than 0.05 percent
jumbo-sized parts weighing more than 150 grams a piece" (LCA
Commons).