80451Reswirl the zero waste toothbrushClosedSmall Business Research InitiativeInnovate UKWe estimate that over 300,000 toothbrushes are thrown away every day in the UK. If everyone used just one a year, those used toothbrushes laid end to end would stretch around the UK coastline. And most would remain recognisable as toothbrushes for hundreds of years to come. We are a start-up formed for the purpose of addressing this challenge. First, we plan to mould toothbrushes from a fully biodegradable plastic that will break down into natural elements, even if it ends up in the sea. Second, we plan a subscription one-for-one return scheme, asking customers to post our toothbrushes back to us when they've finished with them. By closing the loop in this way we aim to prevent as much plastic as possible from going to landfill, finding its way into the sea, or contaminating other plastic recycling streams. We plan to have our brushes made in the UK and market them as 'Reswirl' toothbrushes. Once trading, we will offer consumers an easy, low risk option to try a new toothbrush that allows them to play their part in a circular economy:- As a plastic toothbrush Reswirl toothbrushes will look and feel familiar. - The subscription service means customers won't have to remember when to replace a brush as a new one will be delivered automatically. - Used brush return will be simple, by putting it into the postage-paid, biodegradable packaging that a new brush just arrived in and popping it back in the post. This initial project is to prove the technical and commercial viability of our concept, taking us through testing and approvals to the point of manufacture and launch. The project will ultimately lead to a new environment friendly option for consumers, new UK manufacturing capability, new skills for working with a bio-based and biodegradable form of plastic, and demonstrable proof that products can be sold and usefully recovered by the firm that made them.