With documentary film hot broadcasting, many people know the plastic damage degree for our earth, especially for the ocean. They said, “88% people had seen that it had changed their relationship with plastic totally at the end of 2018. And they thought this incident was “the key moment to spark a plastic battle”.

So, is that meaning we have made sure the recycling procedure? Actually not, global cosmetic industry produces 120 billion units of cosmetic packaging yearly. Most of these public curbside recycling schemes accept plastic waste from toilets. The most common beauty products and packaging are contributing to the world’s growing plastic waste problem, which is traced to landfills, burned, buried, or simply dropped in places where waste management is inadequate if there are not enough recycling solutions. Many plastic wastes enter to ocean and waterways, which combining problems with environmental hazards.

One side, beauty products and packaging that cannot be recycled through the public system not only divert to landfill or incineration, they slow down the system and potentially contaminate large amounts of secondary material. Another side, we must improve the system to create circular economy for plastics. We need to make sure recycling our beauty products as proper as possible. Below are is our guide to what can be recycled and what should just be thrown in the normal bin.

Different beauty packaging material with different recycled ways:

 Cellophane
Such as fragrances and new make-up products usually are wrapped in cellophane. But this cannot be recycled and need to be put in your general dustbin.

 Plastic bottles
Some shampoos, conditioners and shower gels plastic bottles are accepted by most recycling projects. However, be sure to empty and clear them first. You can also remove the lids, as these lids can be recycled, unless it is the trigger head or pump. These will need to go into your regular bin. If you have not completed your conditioner yet, do it without dumping it in the sink. Instead, get out as much as you can and put it in a regular trash bin. (The same is true for any product you have a bit of a legacy.)

 Aerosols
Hairsprays and deodorants can be recycled in most household collection schemes. But be sure that they’ve been totally finished before recycling them.

 Mascara, lipstick, make-up palettes (eye shadow, bronzer, blusher)
These are too complex to recycle. However, there are two companies create a free recycling project for beauty packaging, and these can be taken to one of their allocated drop-off locations. They will also take sheets masks and their wrappers, face wipes and their packets trigger sprays, pumps and so on.

 Glass jars
Once these have been emptied and cleaned, you can put them in your recycling bin freely.

 Cotton pads
In actual fact these can be recycled with your food waste. You can throw them directly throw them into your kitchen dustbin after taking your make-up off.

 Hair tools
If they still work, please check with the local charity center if they will take them. If they do not work, so they can be recycled at a specific center.

 Nail varnish, fragrance bottles, make-up brushes
These just can be placed in the normal waste bin as they are not recycled.

 Toothbrushes and toothpaste
These should not be put in your recycling bin, please put them into the special drop-off locations.