How To / Recycle Your Cosmetics Empties

“Hitting pan” is an accomplishment in the beauty industry, suggesting a guru has used a product (typically powder or cream) enough to finally see the bottom of the vessel. Cosmetics—while in some cases shouldn’t be kept or used for more than a few months—can realistically last years in the drawer.  

Did you know: the FDA does not require cosmetics brands to print expiration dates or suggested period after opening.

Whether it’s time to toss a product due to its life ending or you never liked it in the first place, what’s the best way to do it? Luckily, there are tons of options these days—some of which allow you to benefit further than less empties in landfills. You can read my how to for shampoo and personal care products recycling here.

OPTION 1: BECOME A BRAND LOYALIST FOR COMPANIES THAT RECYCLE FOR YOU

I’ve been a MAC user for about 10 years. While the company has social conscious causes (Viva Glam contributes to fighting AIDs), I fully recognize nobody’s perfect as products are sold in China, thus requiring animal testing prior to entering the market. I still support the brand and definitely support Back to MAC, the brand’s recycling program. Bring in 6 empty containers, or products you’re tired of, and MAC awards you with a free lipstick of your choosing. This can be done in store or online. MAC Select program members can return their empties one by one and are reminded when they are able to redeem a product (however, that can only be done in store).

Other brands have the following benefits: 

Lush—free facemask for 5 empty containers

Kiehl’s—collect stamps for empty containers, redeem for a travel-size product

Origins—their packaging is already largely made from recycled materials. They actually accept containers from any brand; Origins was the beauty industry’s first recycling program starting in 2009.

Garnier—ship in any type of personal care product for redeemable points in Terracycle’s online shop

OPTION 2: LOOK TO PURCHASE MAKEUP THAT ISN’T TOXIC TO TOSS—IF YOU MUST

Sometimes shipping off cosmetics or finding a store from the above list might be difficult. In that case, you might end up tossing empties anyway. Recycling cosmetics isn’t about the containers themselves. Ingredients in makeup are typically harmful to dispose of as they contaminate landfills and groundwater (why we still put them on our skin is still a good question).

Some brands that exclude some of the the 1400 ingredients that the EU bans (while the US bans 30) include W3LL PEOPLE, Dr. Hauschka, RMS beauty and Vapour. Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database shares ingredients in over 60,000 products. You can cross check products with the database to determine how hazardous something might be.

OPTION 3: DONATE MAKEUP TO FAMILY, FRIENDS…OR THE WORLD?

Best-case scenario, you should never share any makeup. You certainly should never share lip or eye products, which can lead to pink eye or cold sores respectively. However, some products could be okay to pass to others such as a liquid foundation you had applied via applicator. This would be better than simply throwing away something you aren’t using.  

Additionally, some women’s or homeless shelters accept beauty products (typically unopened). Check with your local shelters to see what they accept.  

A company called Glambot actually accepts used makeup, sanitizes it, and resells to customers at a discounted rate. While sanitation could include heat, alcohol solutions or layered product removal, consensus is still out on the effectiveness of cleaning used beauty products. I probably wouldn’t use the service to purchase makeup, but would be curious what I could make off of some products I hardly use.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I hope this guide provides some easily accessible ways to rid yourself of overcrowded makeup drawers. These days, recycling your cosmetics appears to be as easy as taking containers to Origins. Reducing consumption is the first step to avoid extra processes related to recycling cosmetics of course. However, as important as it is to think about what we put on our faces everyday is the thought of the where we put these products once we finish.