That’s right Vibrators and lots of other sex toys are literally “f**king the planet” and this has now given birth to a more mother nature friendly approach to creating sexual pleasure devices. At the moment dildos are filling up landfills once they reach the end of their life and have even been found in the sea by fisherman inside a the body of a fish!.
“Silicone is by far the most popular choice when it comes to vibrators, given it is nonporous and entirely body safe. But it is one of the most difficult materials to recycle”, said Elle Black, the founder of Australian sex toy website and shop Mimi De Luxe.
“We’ve been looking for a recycling plant in Australia that will take silicone vibrators for over six months and we still haven’t found one,” Ms Black says. “It seems whilst silicone is great for your body, it’s not so great for the environment when it comes to the end of its life. It can be recycled, but no one wants to touch used sex toys (literally).”
“We’ve just taken stock of Gaia Eco, the world’s first biodegradable vibrator. It is made from nonporous starch based bioplastic called Biofeel and will biodegrade in a commercial composting facility in less than three months,” Black says.
This new material known as “BioFeel” is a bio-plastic mixed with cornstarch and the perfect choice for a vibrator due to being non-porous which is essential for hygiene reasons and the reason most 3D printed sex toys currently have to be made by creating a mold from the 3D printer and then creating the actual sex toy from that mold and ensure it is coated in a lacquer sealant. Bioplastic can however biogdegrade after three months within a commercial composting facility which speeds up the process and the internal electronic parts can all be recycled!
Elle Black is also trying to urge recycling companies to begin taking silicone and plastic sex toys for recycling to push things even further.
“I really like the idea of an amnesty where people can send us their unwanted sex toys and we will recycle them, instead of these going to landfill,” says Ms Black. “I know a number of sex toy retailers have done it in the United States, but have had to give up because of the cost involved.”
