Having trialled the bamboo toothbrush and the toothpaste tablets here are the completely personal results.

Bamboo Toothbrush

This is perfectly fine – it’s a toothbrush like any other except it’s not made from plastic. I see no reason why manufacturers continue making such an array of plastic toothbrushes when they could produce ones made of materials which can be composted.

Toothpaste Tablets

It took some time to get used to these. Instead of the convenience of squeezing paste out of a tube you have to chew the tablet to make the paste. It was not particularly enjoyable and did not leave the mouth as fresh feeling as toothpaste from a tube would do. No doubt, however, that it was just as effective. The big problem is I could only find the one shop in Orkney stocking them – Sutherland’s chemist in Kirkwall. Tubes of toothpaste can be found in a variety of shops and supermarkets throughout Orkney. Until the tablets become more easily available shoppers will just pick up the tubes of toothpaste to buy.

Amongst the many items of plastic washed up on our shores are items which we can all personally make a change in using.

Toothbrushes and the lids off tubes of toothpaste float about on the sea and if not swallowed by a marine animal  land up on our beaches. They will live there forever. If washed out to sea again they will break up into even smaller particles, micro plastics, which will be consumed by an even greater number of marine animals and birds. Eventually, of course, this ends up in our food chain.

The Orkney News will be trying out an alternative to the plastic toothbrush and tube of toothpaste.

We will be trialling a bamboo brush and toothpaste tablets (which include fluoride). Purchased in Sutherland’s Pharmacy the two items cost £4.49 in total.

If any of our readers have already ditched the plastic it would be interesting to know what they use and how they got on?

Related article: The Great Global Nurdle Hunt