When your electric toothbrush no longer works or you acquire a new one, do you just throw it away? If you do, the toothbrush, its electrical components and batteries will just sit in a landfill. Batteries sent to the landfill may result in burned eyes and skin, polluted lakes and streams, or may leak into the water table and eventually contaminate our food. The best solution is to recycle the electric toothbrush and the battery.

1. To remove the rechargeable lithium Ion battery you’ll need a flat-head (standard) screwdriver. Observe basic safety precautions when you follow the procedure outlined below. Be sure to protect your eyes, hands, fingers, and the surface on which you work.
2. Deplete the rechargeable battery of any charge, remove handle from charge base, turn on the brush and let it run until it stops. Repeat this step until you can on longer switch on the base.
3. Insert the large flat-head screwdriver into any available crevice on the toothbrush’s body and wedge the toothbrush apart. The point is to break the body of the toothbrush open so you can dismantle it. This will enable you to recycle the different components appropriately.
4. Remove the rechargeable battery. Take the battery to a Call2Recycle drop off location. In the United States, such locations include AT&T, Best Buy, Black & Decker, DeWalt, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Milwaukee Electric Tool, Office Depot, Orchard Supply Hardware, Porter-Cable Service Centers, RadioShack, Remington Product Company, Ritz Camera, Sears, Staples, Target and US Cellular. Call ahead to ensure that the business will receive the battery.
5. Separate the metal portions of the toothbrush from the plastic portions of the toothbrush and recycle accordingly.