The Recyclers

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Is the world ready for a recycled toothbrush? Apparently so

When it comes to plastic garbage, Eric Hudson has a nose for the good stuff. He has to. "I'm not able to just call Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) and say, 'Ship me 50,000 pounds of virgin plastic,'" he says. "We have to do a lot of digging and scrapping and putting the pieces together."

Hudson is the founder of Recycline, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based company that makes personal-care products from recycled plastic. Recycline's line of Preserve toothbrushes, razors, and tongue cleaners, plus a new line of tableware, are now found in places like Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFMI), Stop & Shop, and Target (NYSE:TGT). The Preserve razor, appropriately green, will be seen gliding along Will Ferrell's face in the upcoming movie Stranger Than Fiction.

Americans feel pretty good about recycled goods these days, but for some people, the recycled toothbrush, Recycline's signature product, is a bridge too far. "We basically believe that maybe 15 percent of people won't buy our product," Hudson says. "But I think our dedicated consumer looks at our product and says, 'That's really nicely done.'" For the record, the plastic is thoroughly tested before use and heated twice to over 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the manufacturing process. It's sterile.

So where does all that plastic come from? Hudson reaches out to like-minded businesses large and small, buying some and receiving some at no cost. Stonyfield Farm, one of the company's largest partners, donates yogurt cups to be recycled. The giant yogurt maker also has donated advertising space to Recycline on the lids of its containers. And Recycline receives about 15 percent of its toothbrushes back from its customers, for re-recycling.

The company will sell almost a million toothbrushes this year--and turn its first profit--and Hudson believes an even larger market awaits. Being a green company, he says, "has been both an advantage and a crutch. Now, we're ready for the mass market."

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