The Best Ways To Recycle Your Beauty Products

Can Beauty Products Be Recycled?

I know we've all heard of recycling before, but I wonder if you're familiar with the processes behind it? Australians used 3.7 million tonnes of plastics in 2021, with only 371,300 tonnes of that being recycled or sent to energy recovery. When you look per person in 2023, on average we used close to 45kg of short life plastic each!

As active shoppers of beauty and skincare products, we can work towards changing this number. Whether it be the packaging or the ingredients, the beauty industry is still having a negative effect on the environment. Heightened awareness of microplastics from use within the cosmetic industry are well documented, and this undesirable impact on landfill and our oceans is known to consequently affect marine life.

Therefore, it's important to educate ourselves on the destination of our beauty products before we simply throw them away and how we can instead recycle them. Here are the BEST ways to recycle our old beauty products. Once we're educated, then we can get creative and make some simple yet highly effective changes.

What Makes Something Recyclable?

To understand why some items are recyclable and why others aren't, it all comes back to economics. Now, I'm no economist myself however the bottom line is, recycling is expensive. The more expensive something is to recycle, the less likely it will be recycled. For example, the smaller and more complex products are, the more expensive they are to recycle. More concerningly, it’s actually cheaper to landfill materials than to recycle them. All the more reason why we need to get ahead of the game.

So, let's get educated! What materials are easily recycled and what materials should we avoid? How can we choose our beauty products as conscious shoppers and how can we recycle them afterwards? Let's find out.

Recycling in Your Neighborhood

Have you ever thought about where your recycling goes once it travels away with the rubbish truck? Well, in Australia most of your recyclables are actually sorted in one of the country's 193 material recovery facilities (which is a teeny tiny number to sort our yearly recycling). Depending on your neighbourhood, materials that are accepted are determined by your local council and recycling program. Using ‘Recycling Near You’, you can find out where you can take recyclable materials that aren't collected by your local council collection. It’s well worth exploring.

How To Reduce Waste In The Community

Have you ever thought about where your recycling goes once it travels away with the rubbish truck? Well, in Australia most of your recyclables are actually sorted in one of the country's 193 material recovery facilities (which is a teeny tiny number to sort our yearly recycling). Depending on your neighbourhood, materials that are accepted are determined by your local council and recycling program. Using ‘Recycling Near You’, you can find out where you can take recyclable materials that aren't collected by your local council collection. It’s well worth exploring.

What Beauty Products Can You Recycle?

1. Electric Hair Styling Tools? … YES

I'm talking about hair straighteners, hair dryers and curling wands here. First of all, if they still work, donate them or try selling them on your local social marketplace. Don't throw them away! However, if they're run down and on their last legs then check for places to recycle them near your area, using 'Recycling Near You'. Some waste management companies have dedicated shops for working electricals to be donated and resold, and there are even appliance libraries that you could look into.

2. Plastic Bottles, Jars, Tubes? … YES

Some plastic containers can be recycled, and this will be indicated on the container itself. You must ensure you wash and rinse them before placing them in your recycling bin.

3. Glass Jars? … YES

Similarly to plastic bottles, products that come in a glass vessel must be washed and rinsed before being recycled. Another thing to note: the colour of the glass matters. Depending on the colour, manufacturers may be less likely to buy them back. Therefore, aim to buy glass packaged products in clear, green or brown glass bottles.

4. Aluminium? … YES

Aluminium is a recyclable material! Choose your cosmetics and skincare products consciously. Choose brands that are making sustainable changes, starting with their packaging.

5. Small containers? ... NO

Most small products are a big “no” in the recycling world. I'm talking about mascara tubes and lipstick cases. Often these items will get missed by sorting machines, ending up in the waste and back into landfill.

Recycling Hack 1: TerraCycle- The Program for Sustainable Beauty

Now that we're in the 'know' of what we can and can't recycle, it's time to get creative. Creating a zero waste solution for beauty products, TerraCycle is on the highway towards sustainability. Acknowledging the harsh reality of non-recyclable products ending up in landfills, the program offers a solution to the problem. Recycling items that regular recycling won't, the TerraCycle Waste Box offers an opportunity to recycle almost anything. The company separates your waste, which is then separated and disposed of correctly. What's cooler? Separated plastics are moulded into new recycled plastic products!

Brands including L’occitane and Burt's Bees are part of TerraCycle's product stewardship program. With L’Occitane for example, you can simply drop into any L’Occitane store and drop off your empty face cleanser, moisturisers or body lotion containers to be recycled and repurposed. By sponsoring the program, they fill the economic gap by paying for the recycling of their products. Now that’s something to truly admire.

How Can You Get Involved In Recycling?

I'm loving your questions today! 

1. Return your empty beauty products to any of the participating beauty brand partner stores, to be shipped over to TerraCycle. 

2. Buy one of theTerraCycle Zero Waste boxes for $241, to put your empty makeup and cosmetic packaging in. Once full, all you have to do is hand it over to TerraCycle to do the sorting for you! This is a great option to share with neighbours, friends and social groups to combine your efforts together, and really make an impactful change.

Recycling Hack 2: Choose Refillable Packaging

Think about how many beauty products you throw out over the course of a year. Jane Iredale is a company working towards sustainability through its packaging program. Offering refillable products, including over 20 shade options in the Jane Iredale PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation Refill, their program allows you to keep reusing that same compact over and over again. Swapping out your product is easy with a hidden little magnet to hold your new colour in place. Hence, preventing it from ending up in a landfill.

Getting started on refillable beauty products is easy, as there are more and more options every day. Browse through our dedicated refills collection to discover all the favourites from Dermalogica Special Cleansing gel Refill to the L'Occitane Lavender Liquid Soap Eco-Refill. And when a refillable option isn’t available, make the next best choice with a biodegradable packaging like the Vanessa Megan Mandarin & Basil Hydrating Lip Balm that goes straight into the garden to compost when you’re finished. The earth will feed on this over the next 12-20 weeks! And don't forget to select multi-use products when you can like the Jane Iredale Magic Mitt, the FOREO Luna Mini 3 or the Ecococo Body Brush. Not only do these provide a lower cose per use, they eliminate waste as they are to be enjoyed time and again.

Recycling Hack 3: How Activeskin Helps Support Recycling

As a company, we have the opportunity to make an impact. We want to make a good impact, by making choices to look after our environment. That's why we choose to send all your goodies to you in recycled cardboard boxes, that you can again recycle. Furthermore, our packing paper is recycled and recyclable, and whilst we say no to single use plastics from samples, we know you'll enjoy the more generous free gifts we have to offer. On the ground, we choose to use keep cups, recycle soft plastics and minimise waste as much as possible… It's a team effort!

Now that we are fully-fledged recycling experts, it's time to put our knowledge into action. Take part in Terra-Cycle's recycling program, choose refillable skincare, makeup, bath and body products and be a conscious shopper. Join the recycling train to a greener earth and a brighter future.