How to Recycle Your Electric Toothbrush in NZ and Australia
Tens of millions of toothbrushes end up in landfill across New Zealand and Australia every year, and electric toothbrushes add batteries and electronics to the problem. This guide shows you how to dispose of every part of your Crescent Nest routine in New Zealand and Australia: what goes in the compost, what goes to e-waste, and what should never go in any bin.
Quick Guide: Where Each Part Goes
| Item | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Bamboo brush head base | Home compost, once the bristles and clip are removed |
| Bristles and inner clip | General rubbish (too small to recycle) |
| Toothbrush handle | E-waste drop-off, or back to us if it's faulty |
| Battery | Stays inside the handle. Never in any household bin |
| Charging base and USB-C cable | E-waste drop-off |
| Cardboard packaging | Kerbside paper and cardboard recycling |
| Floss glass jar | Keep and refill, or kerbside glass recycling |
| Used floss | General rubbish. Never flush it |
| Stainless steel tongue scraper | Scrap metal at your local transfer station or resource recovery centre |
How to Compost a Crescent Nest Brush Head
Replace your brush head every three months, or when the green wear indicator has faded. Then:
- Grab a pair of pliers (needle-nose is easiest).
- Pinch and pull the bristle tufts straight out. They come out in small clusters, so hold the head over a jar or sheet of newspaper.
- Break open the bamboo head and remove the small inner clip that connects it to the handle. The clip and bristles go in your general rubbish.
- Put the bare FSC-certified bamboo base in your home compost, where it breaks down like any other woody material. Some councils in New Zealand and Australia also accept it in green waste or food and garden bins, but rules vary, so check yours first.
The bristles are made from PA1010, a nylon made from castor oil rather than petroleum. Like other nylons, they aren't compostable and are too small for kerbside recycling.
Is Your Handle Really Finished?
Before you recycle a Crescent Nest handle, check whether it can be fixed. Our toothbrush comes with a 2-year manufacturer warranty, so if it stops working within that time, contact us first.
Outside the warranty, our Circular Care System keeps handles out of landfill. Order a Replacement Toothbrush Handle and send your old one back with the prepaid label. We inspect every returned handle, repair and refurbish what we can into Refurbished Sonic Toothbrushes, and responsibly recycle the rest. You keep your existing charger and brush heads.
How to Recycle an Electric Toothbrush in New Zealand
An electric toothbrush is e-waste, so it can't go in your kerbside rubbish or recycling bin.
- Your council's transfer station or resource recovery centre: most accept small electronics, sometimes for a small fee. Check your council's website for e-waste and battery drop-off points.
- Find a recycler: search recycling.kiwi.nz for e-waste collection sites near you.
- Retailers: some electronics and hardware stores take back small electronics. Check with your local store before you go.
New Zealand is designing a national product stewardship scheme for e-waste and household batteries, which should make drop-off easier in future. Until then, councils are the most reliable option.
How to Recycle an Electric Toothbrush in Australia
- Recycle Mate: the national app and website shows your nearest drop-off for e-waste and items with built-in batteries.
- Planet Ark: search recyclingnearyou.com.au for e-waste drop-off points by postcode.
- Council resource recovery centres: many accept small electronics, often free of charge.
- Retailers: some stores run e-waste collections for small electronics. Check accepted items before you go.
Several states ban e-waste from landfill, including Victoria and South Australia. B-cycle, Australia's battery recycling scheme, collects loose batteries in many supermarkets and hardware stores, but a toothbrush with a sealed battery should go to e-waste instead.
Why Batteries Must Never Go in the Bin
Your Crescent Nest toothbrush has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery sealed inside the handle. When lithium-ion batteries are crushed in a rubbish or recycling truck, they can catch fire. Fire services and councils in both countries report a growing number of truck and recycling plant fires caused by batteries, and Queensland alone recorded more than 200 battery fires in a year.
- Don't remove the battery yourself. The handle is sealed to keep water out, and forcing it open can damage the battery. Take the whole handle to e-waste.
- Don't put it in any household bin, including recycling.
- Look for the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol on the device. It means the item must be collected separately from household waste.
Packaging, Floss and Accessories
- Packaging: our boxes are FSC-certified cardboard. Flatten them and put them in kerbside paper and cardboard recycling.
- Floss: keep the glass jar and top it up with a floss refill. Used floss goes in general rubbish. Never flush it, because it tangles in pipes and harms wildlife.
- Tongue scraper: our stainless steel tongue scraper is built to last for years. When you're done with it, take it to scrap metal recycling at your transfer station or resource recovery centre.
- Travel case: our bamboo travel case is made to be reused for years, trip after trip.
FAQs
Can I put an electric toothbrush in kerbside recycling?
No. In both New Zealand and Australia, electric toothbrushes are e-waste. Their batteries can start fires in recycling trucks and plants. Take them to an e-waste or battery drop-off instead.
Are bamboo toothbrush heads compostable?
The bamboo base is, once you remove the bristles and the small inner clip. Put it in your home compost, or in your council green-waste bin if your council accepts it.
Can I recycle toothbrush bristles?
No. Bristles are too small for kerbside recycling, so they go in general rubbish.
What should I do with a Crescent Nest handle that has stopped working?
If it's within the 2-year warranty, contact us. If not, order a Replacement Handle and send the old one back with the prepaid label, and we'll repair, refurbish or responsibly recycle it.
Where can I recycle batteries in New Zealand?
Your council's transfer station or resource recovery centre is the most reliable option. Check your council's website for battery drop-off points.
Where can I recycle batteries in Australia?
Use B-cycle for loose batteries and the Recycle Mate app or Planet Ark's Recycling Near You for devices with built-in batteries, such as electric toothbrushes.
Choosing Crescent Nest already cuts the plastic in your oral care routine. Disposing of each part in the right place makes sure the rest of it is recovered, too.