Natural, green and sustainable are terms often linked to the ingredients in beauty products, and while beauty may come from within, what’s on the outside of those products is just as important.
Unfortunately, many of our favourite beauty products don’t come in recyclable packaging. They often comprise several materials such as glass, black plastic and foam, all which are expensive to recycle compared to larger plastic items. Not many recyclers are willing to make the effort to separate the materials because it isn’t worth their time and the components are too small.
The good news is that certain beauty companies are making it easier for us to recycle their packaging and products.
To make sure your purchases don’t end up in landfill, polluting the environment, we’ve put together a list of brands who take sustainability seriously. So, when it comes time to spring clean your bathroom, you can be sure how and what to recycle to do your bit for the planet.
Of all the items you can recycle through TerraCycle’s free programs, contact lenses would have to be one of the most unexpected. Yet Australians have diverted one million of them from landfill through the Bausch + Lomb Recycling Program. To recycle your contact lenses and their packaging, simply drop them off at any participating optometrist or Community Collection Hub in your area (you can find the locations on the map on our website).
Thanks to Colgate, any brand of oral care waste can be shipped to TerraCycle for recycling in the Oral Care Recycling Program. Simply download and print a label from our website, attach it to your box of waste and drop it off at your nearest post office to ship to TerraCycle for free. You’ll also be able to earn a donation toward the school or charity of your choice when you send in shipments of 5kgs or more.
There are also many beauty brands who will take back your empties through their instore collection programs. L’Occitane, innisfree, Jurlique, and Kiehl’s, and allow you to recycle your used beauty products this way. Some of them even reward you with a discount on their products.
Other programs that allow you to ship waste to TerraCycle include Edible Beauty, Burt’s Bees and Jeuneora, a sustainably sourced marine collagen brand.
And finally, don’t forget to collect and recycle all your old razors for recycling through the Gillette Razor Recycling Program that just launched here in Australia. For more details on how to sign up (spaces are filling up fast), head to the program page on our website.
For more spring clean suggestions, check out the additional free recycling programs we run in Australia. For anything that can’t be recycled through our free programs, check out our Zero Waste Boxes which provide a solution for difficult-to-recycle waste and accept all brands.
The following Zero Waste Boxes are great options for a beauty spring clean:
- Beauty Products and Packaging – Zero Waste Box
- Bathroom Separation – Zero Waste Box
- Bedroom Separation – Zero Waste Box
- All In One – Zero Waste Box
Zero Waste Boxes can be used anywhere; at home, the office, community spaces, events and more. You can buy them online in either small or medium sizes and the price covers the delivery, recycling process and transport cost. Once ordered, the box is delivered by Australia Post and arrives flat packed. Simply open the Zero Waste Box and stand it up-right; it’s then ready for you to start putting waste in it. Once the box is full, take it back to Australia Post (for free) and then we’ll recycle the contents.
Happy recycling everyone!
TerraCycle News 