I find I only need one or two to do my whole mouth - you rinse the gunk off and proceed until the floss shreds. There's also the Reach (?) flosser which is a reusable handle w replaceable floss heads. Less to throw out. I like the idea of the reusable handle but I don't care for the floss it comes with so I use the Glide disposeables instead. My carbon footprint is already lower than that of the average american so I feel it's not so bad.