Don’t just throw away empty cosmetic packaging. Not only can you recycle them, retailers such as John Lewis, Boots and Lush will reward you for your efforts! Here’s what you need to know.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
What can I recycle from my beauty supplies?
We are all more knowledgeable these days with what can and can not be recycled from our kitchen cupboards – but it’s another story when it comes to the empty pots and bottles from our beauty supplies.
So can your mascara tube be recycled and what about that empty face cream tube? The answer is yes.
On the whole you can recycle almost everything from your beauty cupboard and it doesn’t matter that these pretty little bottles, tubes and pumps are made out of different materials, as the recycling schemes will sort them out for you.
Which of the beauty recycling schemes reward you?
There are quite a few recycling schemes that will give you vouchers, discounts or even free gifts if you recycle with them. I’ve listed them below so you can easily find the one that works best for you.
John Lewis BeautyCycle
John Lewis has a popular BeautyCycle scheme where you take five or more beauty empties to any John Lewis beauty counter (no glass or aerosols). In return, until recently, they gave MyJohnLewis members £5 off a £20 spend on beauty, to use there and then – a really good incentive to recycle at John Lewis.
But that has all changed and although you still get £5 off, you now have to spend £50 or more on B Corp certified beauty brands. These include Aveda, Aromatherapy Associates, Chloe, Elemis, Evolve Organic Beauty, L’Occitane, Le Labo, Neom Organics London, Pai, Rituals and Sunday Riley.
This really limits what you can spend the £5 on, so it’s a bit of a disappointing downgrade of the scheme, and means I’ll now be recycling my beauty empties elsewhere.
Recycle at Boots
Take 5 empty beauty, wellness or dental products into a participating Boots store and Recycle at Boots will reward you.
There is a bit of preparation to do before you head to your local Boots, as you first have to register and scan the products at the Recycle at Boots Scan2recycle site, wait 24 hours, then scan the QR code on the deposit box when you drop off your empties.
Then spend £10 whilst you’re there and 500 Boots Advantage points will be added to your account – that’s the equivalent of £5 to spend at Boots, so it’s definitely worth the effort.
You can now recycle blister packs at Boots. It’s still using your Recycle at Boots Scan2recycle account where you’ll need to log 15 blister packs. Once you have dropped off the 15 blister packs in-store in one go, you’ll receive 150 Boots Advantage points when you spend £10.
& Other Stories
If you’re a fan of & Other Stories beauty range, then take just one or more of their beauty containers into a store and they’ll give you a voucher for 10% off your next purchase. The voucher is valid for 3 months and can be used across the store.
Lush
With its trademark black pots already made from recycled polypropylene, Lush is ahead of the game when it comes to recycling.
But in addition to that, their Bring it Back scheme, invites customers to take 5 empty, clean Lush containers into the store and be rewarded with a free face mask. Or alternatively, you can get 50p per container returned, to use off items purchased there and then.
L’Occitane
Take your clean, empty beauty containers from any brand into your nearest L’Occitane shop and you will get 10% off purchases made at that time.
The Perfume Shop
Take any empty perfume bottle to your nearest branch of The Perfume Shop and you’ll get a saving of 15% off any purchases made at that time.
Kiehl’s
Kiehl’s Recycle & Be Rewarded scheme gives you 10 points when you take any full size empty Kiehl’s product to one of their shops. 120 points = £10 voucher to use on a full price item.
Not the best deal out there but if you use a lot of Kiehl’s products it may be worth saving those empties for your next visit and getting loyalty points to add to your Kiehl’s Family Reward scheme.
Editor’s pick: free share
Get a free share worth up to £100 when you sign up to Trading 212.
Other ways to recycle cosmetics
If you’re not bothered about vouchers, or don’t have access to these retailers, other recycling schemes exist.
TerraCycle is one of the biggest recyclers of beauty products, teaming up with a number of brands including Maybelline.
The only items they do not recycle are glass jars (as these can go in your own recycling bin), wooden eye pencils, make-up brushes and nail varnish bottles. Visit their website to find out where you can drop your empties.
The Body Shop also recycles any brand of beauty packaging in their shops. They don’t offer a monetary reward at the moment, but I’m sure you will find reward enough in the good deed you are doing by recycling those little make up tubes and foundation pots you would have otherwise thrown in the bin.