Gillette Mach3
The mainstream plastic cartridge razor - a plastic handle and fused plastic-plus-steel cartridges that can't go in curbside recycling.
The verdict: Mostly plastic
The bulk of this tool is plastic and the plastic is in the contact path. The handle is molded plastic with a rubber grip, and the recurring cartridge is a plastic body plus a lubrication strip that glide directly against your skin - only the three cutting edges are steel. That cartridge fuses plastic, steel, and a polymer strip into one unit, so it isn't curbside-recyclable and goes to landfill (mail-in TerraCycle is the only route). The steel edge is the only part that ever did the work; here it's packaged in plastic you throw away every few weeks.
Verification: Manufacturer confirmed
What it's made of
| Part | Material | Skin contact |
|---|---|---|
| handle plastic handle with rubber grip | Plastic other / unspecified | No |
| cartridge plastic cartridge body + lubrication strip that glide on skin | Plastic other / unspecified | Yes incidental |
| blades | Stainless Steel grade unspecified | Yes primary |
A three-blade cartridge razor: a reusable plastic handle that clicks onto replaceable plastic cartridges, each carrying three steel blades, a pivoting head, and a lubrication strip. It's the default drugstore razor and the reference point the plastic-free options are compared against.
Pros
- Cheap, familiar, and available everywhere
- Pivoting head is forgiving of careless technique
Cons
- Cartridges fuse plastic and steel - not curbside recyclable, mail-in only
- Ongoing cost and waste of buying plastic cartridges indefinitely
Categories: Razors
Sources
Every material claim above is backed by these. This is the scattered info we centralized.
- manufacturer https://gillette.com brand product pages confirm plastic handle and plastic multi-blade cartridges with lubrication strip
- other https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/gillette cartridges recyclable only via mail-in program, not curbside
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