How to Correctly Recycle Your Beauty Products

The skincare and beauty industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. According to research, 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic were used in 2018 for the packaging of personal care and beauty products in the United States alone.

That is a shockingly huge number to come to terms with.

According to TerraCycle, a volunteer-based recycling platform in the U.S., more than 50% of the people who own beauty products don't even try to make an effort towards recycling as it can be deemed inconvenient.

After all, it is hard enough to stick to a skincare routine. Where would we gather the energy to recycle all these tiny jars and tubes?

Recycling makeup and skincare products can be especially challenging and confusing as they come in a huge variety of unique packagings. As attractive as beauty packaging is with all its glitter and gold, navigating through all the different tubes, pumps, jars, droppers, sprayers, and whatnot, and finding out what goes in which recycling bin can be a challenge.

Luckily, the beauty industry is shifting its focus towards sustainable beauty packaging and taking initiatives in the right direction.

However, sustainability is a two-way street.

The beauty industry can only go so far in its efforts for sustainability. As consumers, we need to find ways to educate ourselves on recycling.

Here are a few easy ways you can begin your beauty recycling journey.

Examine the Label on Your Products

Be wary of the recycling triangle, also known as the Mobius Loop, on your packaging. Just because a product has the recycling symbol on its packaging does not mean it is easily recyclable. You also need to know the recyclable nature of your product's container.

To determine if a product can be placed in your curbside recycling bin, look for the number inside the recycling symbol.

Generally, only plastic items containing the numbers 1 and 2 are widely recyclable in the roadside recycle bins.

You can check what is recyclable and what is not by checking your local municipality.

Furthermore, you can also find this information online like on your local government website, or on platforms like Earth911. You can access all kinds of eco-friendly and sustainable-living guides on Earth911 along with finding out the nearest recycling locations to you.

Check for Internal Recycling Programs

Oftentimes, beauty products cannot be recycled due to their small size or your community's recycling options.

Fortunately, beauty brands are taking eco-friendly steps in the right direction. A number of major beauty brands offer internal recycling programs within their own system.

For items that are not recyclable within normal recycling plants, you can check whether they belong to a brand that has its own recycling scheme.

There are a lot of beauty brands that give you the choice to drop off their beauty and skincare products at their outlets once you are done using them and the containers are empty. They then recycle the products on your behalf.

Multi-Layer Packaging is a Big No-No

When it comes to recycling, there are a few red flags that you need to be aware of.

The biggest one is multilayer packaging.

What this means is that the product package is made out of multiple layers of multiple materials like different types of plastic.

This generally includes the packaging for pumps, droppers, and squeezable tubes as they are often made up of multiple different types of materials. Before chucking your pumps or droppers in the recycle bin, make sure to remove the heads from the bottle so that they don't eventually end up in the trash.

However, despite their small size, screwtops and caps are completely acceptable to recycle along with the bottle or tube that they come on top of.

Other Recycling Red Flags

There are a few "anti-recycling" packagings that are not widely accepted at recycling plants. They bring the recycling process to a halt and end up in the trash bin.

The most common culprits are products that are small in size. Think 2 inches or under. This includes all travel-size products, testers, and most tubes.

Products that contain mirrors and magnets are also non-recyclable.

Furthermore, products that come in dark or black bottles are also a big no-no in the recycling world as they cannot be detected by the MRF machines and hence, end up in a landfill.

Sometimes it's Better To Trash it than to Recycle it

We are all guilty of throwing our containers in the recycling bin and hoping for the best that it ends up being recycled. What we don't realize is that we are doing more harm than good.

When a product that is not recyclable ends up at the recycling facility, it halts the whole process and obstructs the entire system.

Absentmindedly chucking your products in the recycle bin causes huge problems at the facility as it gets mixed in with things it should not be mixed in with. It ends up contaminating the recyclable plastic with its non-recyclable properties.

This also increases physical labor for the people working at the recycling plant as they have to manually remove these containers from the rest of the material.

That container you thoughtlessly chucked in the bin ends up in the landfill, anyway. Just that it does so after causing a lot more stress and labor.

The best practice is to just throw the containers you are doubtful about in the garbage can and save everyone the trouble.

Opt For Refillables

At the end of the day, our main goal is to reduce waste and practice sustainability. Using refillable products is a real and actionable way towards that goal.

It is good to get our recycling game on but the more important question to ask is, "What can we do to reduce our use of plastics?"

Fortunately, there are more brands now than ever producing refillable containers.

Some personal care and beauty brands that offer refillable options are by Humankind, Kjaer Weis, Follain, and Oui the People. These brands offer products ranging all the way from creams, eye-shadows, and bronzers to mouthwashes, shampoos, and conditioners, and even razors.

Or opt for brands like GetiLove who offer all glass containers that can be reused. I use mine to put small jewelry in like earrings.

Hopefully this helped you decide on what to do with your use beauty containers.

Want to start a susty lifestyle but not sure where to start? Try my sustainable living roadmap!