Dental floss is typically made from synthetic waxed nylon or Teflon. The mixed materials used in traditional floss make recycling too difficult–some research suggestsit can take 80 years to break down in a landfill. It also ends up in the ocean, More likely though, it finds its way into our water supplies and eventually the ocean, where it threatens and destroys precious marine life. Even the small bits can be swallowed by sea creatures, or tangled up in coral causing irreversible damage to our marine ecosystems.