Three Reasons Dentists Should Recycle Amalgam Waste

When it comes to dealing with amalgam waste, most dentists know that there is a lot that goes into it. But amalgam waste can actually be recycled. In fact, it is one of the most harmful toxins that we can be putting back into our environment, so it really does need to be recycled. Here are three reasons amalgam waste should be recycled:

• Amalgam waste contains mercury. Mercury is very toxic, so anything we can do to avoid putting it back into our environment will benefit humanity and the earth.  Some dentists do not even like to use amalgam fillings because they contain mercury, although others do maintain that fillings made of this material actually last longer.  The bottom line is, if using amalgam fillings, the waste involved should be recycled because of the mercury that’s in them.
• Every little bit of recycling helps. The amalgam waste from dentists makes up just about one percent of all the mercury released into the environment due to human practices, so you may wonder why we should be so worried about such a small amount.  But the reality is that a small amount like this is still damaging to the environment, and by just starting with small amounts like what is used in the dental chemistry industry, we can go a long way toward helping the environment. One percent is still a lot.
• Mercury does more than harm the neighborhood it was released into. Recycling amalgam waste is important because once mercury is released in the air, it can travel all the way around the world, settling in bodies of water and in the ground.  It creates a very widespread path of pollution, even more so than other types of pollutants, which generally only affect the neighborhood they were released in.

Amalgam waste is one of the most toxic forms of waste we have control over in our environment today.  It is up to be responsible citizens of Planet Earth and take care of these toxic substances we create.  It’s true that they can be useful, but being responsible is about disposing of them properly.