Recently, I came across a post on Reddit which asked: ‘Why am I all of a sudden spotting discarded floss picks everywhere?’
A random observation to some, but for me, this question spoke right to my soul.
Over the past few months no matter where life has taken me – in London, at home with my parents in Kent, visiting friends up North, or at the South Terminal at Gatwick – I see floss picks on the floor.
And every time I see one of those Y-shaped sticks on the pavement, or poking its head out from underneath a leaf, I think to myself: ‘Why is this here?’
For a while, I thought I was the only one who’d noticed this. But after reading the aforementioned Reddit post, I realise I’m not the only one that wants this mystery solved.
One Redditor suggested that the uptick in ‘Turkey teeth’ might be the answer, with more of us having a new found need to floss on the move. Others surmised it could be due to people hoarding them in their pockets, to use after a particularly chewy meal out.
A probably my favourite theory focused on the fact that British rapper Central Cee may have popularised floss picks, after being regularly seen chewing them over the years.
Such a proponent for oral hygiene, the artist even told British Vogue in 2023 that he doesn’t travel anywhere without a tongue scraper.
Are we flossing more as a nation?
Often, the most obvious answer is the right one. So, could this new trend of discarded floss sticks just mean us Brits have levelled up our teeth brushing routines?
The Marylebone Smile Clinic say they’ve seen a noticeable increase in awareness around interdental cleaning.
The clinic tells Metro: ‘Patients are more informed than ever about the importance of flossing, largely driven by social media, preventative health messaging, and a broader cultural shift towards wellness and self-care.’
However, while knowledge of oral health might be increasing, there isn’t a wealth of evidence to suggest that we’re actually actioning this, and flossing more as a nation.
For example, a government adult oral health survey in 2021 found that only 30% of participants used dental floss to clean their teeth and mouth.
Plus, in a survey of 12 countries across the globe, 52% of Brits agreed with the following statement: ‘I always forget to floss’.
Sitting at the top of the leaderboard with the French and the Irish, we clearly aren’t taking Central Cee’s approach to oral health.
However, for those who are on the flossing wagon, dental picks are one of the most popular choices, according to the clinic.
‘They’re convenient, portable, and often perceived as easier to use than traditional string floss,’ the clinic explains.
‘For many people, especially those who find flossing fiddly or uncomfortable, floss sticks lower the barrier to maintaining good oral hygiene. That increased accessibility likely contributes to their visibility in public spaces.’
Easy to use, impossible to dispose of
Even if the sticks are being used more, it doesn’t explain why they’re ending up on our streets, and not in the bin.
The problem could well lie in the fact that they have a very sharp, tapered plastic end, designed to function as a toothpick.
But, it also means that our traditional black bin bags are absolutely ill-equipped to deal with their pointy butts. The dental picks are perfectly invented to poke their way to freedom.
But it’s also not just their shape, it’s the material they’re made out of too.
Metro spoke with Dr Oluseye Oludoye, lecturer in Environmental Science at Teesside University, about why exactly these tools are a bin’s worst nightmare.
He explains: ‘Because floss picks are small and perceived as trivial, they may also be treated less seriously than larger forms of litter, similar to the way cigarette ends are often casually discarded.’
And because of their size, these picks end up falling through the cracks of both recycling operations and street-cleaning processes, Dr Oluseye explains.
And even if they do make it to a proper waste disposal site, the problems don’t end there.
‘Single-use dental floss picks are particularly problematic from a waste management perspective because they are produced with mixed materials.
‘They’re usually made of a plastic handle combined with nylon floss, which are fused together so they cannot be efficiently broken down and recovered.’
Most recycling system are designed to process single-material items that can be easily separated and sorted.
Dr Oluseye continues: ‘The design of floss picks makes them almost impossible to recycle through conventional systems.’
Dr Oluseye emphasises that the discarded toothpick epidemic is an example of how the UK’s waste management infrastructure, such as bins and street cleaning schedules, has not adapted to the growth of small, single-use products.
‘This reflects a wider tension between convenience culture and waste infrastructure, rather than simply an increase in careless behaviour,’ he adds.
Floss picks and their impact on the environment
Aside from looking grim on the pavement floor, floss picks are bad the environment, and could soon be the next piece of litter pictured in the tail of a baby seahorse.
Some companies, such as US brand Twice Oral Wellness and DenTek, are exploring more eco-friendly options – utilising ingredients like cornstarch, bio-based alternatives – the vast majority of picks are made using single-use plastics.
‘These are products designed to support oral health, yet they’re made from plastic that breaks down into microplastics and adds to long-term chemical exposure in the environment and our bodies,’ says Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet.
‘Disposable floss picks show how deeply throwaway plastic has been normalised in everyday life.
‘We take something used for a few seconds, make it from a material that lasts for decades, and then act surprised when it shows up in our streets and waterways.’
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