by Eileen Weber
Want to get rid of your old sneakers? Can do. Not sure what to do with that extra prosthetic limb in the closet? You can recycle that as well. Those leftover bits of soap from the shower? No problem. There’s even a place that will recycle sex toys. But that’s a whole different article.
But there was one item that got my attention: Dentures. I’m all for saving the planet one recycling bucket at a time. But the idea of having somebody else teeth in my mouth gave me the willies. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have too many plans to lose my teeth in the first place. And just so you know, I plan on living forever. The whole dying thing just cramps my style. Although, I can get a recycled casket if I want.
But recycled dentures? Really? I felt compelled to look deeper into this. So I called my own dentist, Zaino & Scully in Fairfield. I was told that custom crowns are made to fit and not easily adaptable to anyone else. Teeth are not exchangeable like eyeglasses. As far as they were concerned, it just couldn’t be done.
But Japan begs to differ. The Japanese Denture Recycling Association will take partial dentures. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, their web site was completely in Japanese. Since I haven’t brushed up on my Asian languages recently, this was a bummer.
But last April, The Associated Press did a story about the company. The teeth and gum molds are custom made, typically don’t fit other people, and full dentures usually don’t carry metals. But in the partial dentures, it’s the precious metals like gold, platinum, and palladium that are key.
The Japanese Denture Recycling Association also donates a portion of its proceeds to UNICEF, the non-profit organization that supports the growth and health of children all over the globe.
So the next time you think about chucking those choppers for a set of new ones, you have an environmentally-friendly option for the old ones.
Photo courtesy of The Daily Green.
Want to get rid of your old sneakers? Can do. Not sure what to do with that extra prosthetic limb in the closet? You can recycle that as well. Those leftover bits of soap from the shower? No problem. There’s even a place that will recycle sex toys. But that’s a whole different article.
But there was one item that got my attention: Dentures. I’m all for saving the planet one recycling bucket at a time. But the idea of having somebody else teeth in my mouth gave me the willies. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have too many plans to lose my teeth in the first place. And just so you know, I plan on living forever. The whole dying thing just cramps my style. Although, I can get a recycled casket if I want.
But recycled dentures? Really? I felt compelled to look deeper into this. So I called my own dentist, Zaino & Scully in Fairfield. I was told that custom crowns are made to fit and not easily adaptable to anyone else. Teeth are not exchangeable like eyeglasses. As far as they were concerned, it just couldn’t be done.
But Japan begs to differ. The Japanese Denture Recycling Association will take partial dentures. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, their web site was completely in Japanese. Since I haven’t brushed up on my Asian languages recently, this was a bummer.
But last April, The Associated Press did a story about the company. The teeth and gum molds are custom made, typically don’t fit other people, and full dentures usually don’t carry metals. But in the partial dentures, it’s the precious metals like gold, platinum, and palladium that are key.
The Japanese Denture Recycling Association also donates a portion of its proceeds to UNICEF, the non-profit organization that supports the growth and health of children all over the globe.
So the next time you think about chucking those choppers for a set of new ones, you have an environmentally-friendly option for the old ones.
Photo courtesy of The Daily Green.
At first, I thought this was disgusting. But as I read on, it seemed to become a more plausible and environmentally-friendly option. Leave it to the Japanese to come out with brilliant - albeit crazy - schemes and inventions. But if they can do it, then they deserve to be called one of the most technologically advanced people in the world.
Posted by: Bobby Schaeffer | July 15, 2011 at 08:37 AM