The UK beauty and personal care industry is one of the largest in Europe, valued at over £10 billion annually.
With this comes a significant environmental burden, particularly in the form of packaging waste. Every year, millions of cosmetic and toiletry products are sold across the UK, yet most of their packaging ends up in general waste due to limited recycling infrastructure and a lack of public awareness. Most cosmetic containers – like mascara tubes, lipstick cases, pump bottles and sample sachets – are made from mixed materials, which are extremely difficult to recycle through standard council-run kerbside systems.
Why is cosmetics recycling so important?
A key reason cosmetics recycling is so important is its potential to reduce the harmful environmental impact of this waste. When beauty products are discarded improperly, their packaging can take hundreds of years to break down. Over time, plastics fragment into microplastics, which contaminate soil and water systems and threaten wildlife. Moreover, some cosmetics contain chemical residues – like preservatives, solvents, or synthetic fragrances – that can leach into the environment if thrown away with general waste or poured down the drain. These substances may disrupt ecosystems, harm aquatic life and potentially affect human health through water contamination.
Cosmetics recycling faces unique challenges. The industry’s packaging is rarely standardised, and most containers are too small or too contaminated to be picked up by automated sorting systems. Many local recycling programmes exclude cosmetic items altogether.
Environmental Implications
In the United Kingdom, over 23 kilograms of plastic waste are generated per person annually, with cosmetics and personal care products being significant contributors. The beauty industry alone is responsible for producing around 120 million units of plastic packaging each year – accounting for an estimated 30% of global plastic waste.
Domestically, approximately 1.3 billion cosmetic items are produced annually. According to the British Beauty Council, 95% of their packaging ends up discarded. This high level of waste is largely due to:
- Packaging that is too small to be recycled (e.g., mascara, samples and travel-size products)
- Use of composite materials, such as those found in makeup palettes
- Non-recyclable or hazardous components in products like fragrances, toothpaste tubes and nail varnishes
The environmental impact of this waste is significant. Cosmetic products often contain residual chemicals – including parabens, solvents, and synthetic fragrances – that can leach into the environment if not disposed of correctly. For example, throwing away expired foundation or pouring nail polish down the drain can introduce toxic substances into water systems, harming wildlife and posing risks to public health. This issue is especially troubling considering the UK’s ongoing challenges with water pollution and plastic contamination in its waterways.
At the same time, the packaging used by most cosmetics brands relies heavily on virgin resources, including fossil fuel-derived plastics and mined metals. The production of these materials is not only energy-intensive but also contributes to carbon emissions, resource depletion and habitat loss. Recycling, when done properly, significantly reduces this impact. For instance, recycling aluminium uses up to 95% less energy than producing new aluminium, and recycled plastics can cut emissions by as much as 75%. Unfortunately, without specialist solutions, much of the UK’s cosmetic waste is not being recovered or reused.
MYGroup’s Role in Cosmetics Recycling
MYGroup is one of the only companies in the UK offering a fully traceable, specialist recycling solution for cosmetic waste, helping to solve a long-standing environmental challenge in the beauty industry. While most local recycling schemes do not accept items like lipstick tubes, foundation bottles, mascara wands or pump dispensers – largely due to their complex materials and contamination – MYGroup fills this crucial gap by providing the infrastructure, expertise and innovation needed to process these hard-to-recycle items responsibly.
MYGroup’s collection and sorting of cosmetic items entirely in-house, cosmetics and beauty items are managed at the specialised facility in Hull where advanced technology there allows MYGroup facilitate complete extraction, recovery and recycling processes for both the packaging and the residual of the cosmetic product. Packaging waste is either composted or repurposed and reintroduced into the supply chain as a raw material or as a newly transformed product.
Polyethylene and polypropylene are separated during the plastics sorting process is transformed into injection moulded products such as surf combs, containers and decorations. Plastic that remains even after the injection moulding process is then transformed into MYGroup’s innovative MYBoard product, which is used for items such as furniture, fittings and more. These products are made by the team at ReFactory, who specialise in upcycling various waste material into new products.
MYGroup’s process for recycling beauty products and cosmetics waste includes the provision for hazardous items, items such as fragrances and nail polishes. MYGroup hold the required and appropriate environmental permits to process the packaging and any of the remaining residue fully, with any of this cosmetic product residual being processed into bio-fuel.
MYGroup are completely transparent through every step of the process, with clear data being reported to support ESG compliance or ESG and CSR targets.
Recycle at Boots Scheme
In 2020 MYGroup, technology partner Metrisk and popular high street British retailer Boots formed a partnership to create the ‘Recycle at Boots’ scheme. This scheme enabled customers to drop off items like empty beauty packaging and medicine blister packs that cannot usually be recycled via household collections. The initiative saw remarkable success, with over one million items – amounting to approximately 19 tonnes – being diverted from landfill by early 2022 across around 700 Boots stores. To date the scheme has managed to achieve a processing number of 10 million items with the scheme now live in 800 stores across the United Kingdom. Within the scheme there has also been an integration of the Advantage Card rewards programme through the Scan2Recycle system.
The partnership between MYGroup and Boots stands as a leading example of a scalable, circular economy solution. It not only diverts waste from landfill but also turns it into valuable materials, helping consumers make more environmentally responsible choices while closing the loop on pharmaceutical and beauty packaging waste.
MyBeauty Recycle and Reward Scheme
In early 2023, MYGroup partnered with Harrods to launch the “MyBeauty Recycle & Reward” scheme at Harrods’ regional H Beauty store in Milton Keynes, marking a pioneering move in UK beauty recycling. Participants who returned five or more eligible items in a single visit were rewarded with 500 MyBeauty points, redeemable for exclusive beauty experiences, in-store discounts, or services. After a successful trial – during which around 200 kg of packaging was diverted from landfill – the scheme was expanded in January 2024 to all five H Beauty stores across the UK, with these stores being in Bristol, Edinburgh, Lakeside, Gateshead, and Milton Keynes, the scheme maintains the same 500‑point reward for depositing five or more items. The collaboration highlights MYGroup’s role as a market leader in cosmetic packaging recycling, while aligning with Harrods’ sustainability goals and the MyBeauty loyalty programme.
MYGroup has emerged as a critical player in addressing the issue of cosmetics waste, offering a fully traceable, specialist recycling solution that goes beyond conventional methods. Through its advanced processing facilities and innovative upcycling strategies, MYGroup not only recovers valuable materials but also reduces environmental harm by turning waste into usable products like MYBoard. Strategic partnerships with major retailers such as Boots and Harrods have further expanded access to these recycling solutions, incentivising consumers and demonstrating the viability of circular economy models in the beauty sector. As awareness grows and infrastructure improves, initiatives like these lay the groundwork for a more sustainable future – where beauty and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.
The UK beauty industry faces a pressing environmental challenge due to the vast amounts of non-recyclable cosmetic packaging it generates each year. With traditional recycling systems ill-equipped to manage the complexity of cosmetic waste, much of it ends up in landfills or incinerated. However, companies like MYGroup are leading the way in developing innovative, sustainable solutions. Through advanced recycling technologies, strategic partnerships with major retailers such as Boots and Harrods and consumer reward initiatives, MYGroup is not only diverting millions of cosmetic items from waste streams but also proving that circular economy models are both practical and impactful. As a proud member of the British Beauty Council, MYGroup is contributing to broader industry efforts and helping to push the sustainability agenda forward. This affiliation reinforces the company’s commitment to transforming the beauty sector into one that aligns with environmental responsibility, paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future for all.
