Serum, blush, hair mask: when the time comes to get new beauty products, you always know where to go. But when they are finished, do we really know how to dispose of them?   Each year, the cosmetic industry produces 120 billion packaging units, of which 2.7 billion plastic containers end up in landfills. "The complex design of beauty products makes them difficult to recycle," says Alex Payne, public relations manager for TerraCycle. This is why the environmental organization has been collaborating with many beauty brands - including L'Occitane en Provence, Burt's Bees, Weleda and DECIEM - for ten years to facilitate the recovery of these particular products, through various programs. collection. "Depending on the brand, consumers can send their cosmetics by post free of charge or go and wear them in stores," he explains. TerraCycle does the rest. Whether we go through this type of program or through its municipal recycling system, the goal of our consumption is to understand what is recycled (or not) and how we can get there. From the actions to adopt to reduce our environmental footprint to the list of companies that advocate a zero waste philosophy, there is indeed green at the end of the tunnel.  

4 actions to adopt for an eco-responsible beauty routine

1. Look for zero waste products.

  From conditioner to facial scrub, more and more personal care is offered without packaging.   2. Small containers = perfect for the plane!   Is our eye cream finished? We collect the jar and fill it with our favorite moisturizer on our next trip: it will fit perfectly in our hand luggage!   3. Avoid single-use products.   Although practical, they are a real scourge for the environment. We swap our disposable makeup remover pads for a machine washable set. We leave the masks in individual format and choose the good old version in a jar (preferably in glass).   4. Favor large formats and bulk products.   It is a gesture not only economical, but which considerably reduces our consumption of plastic.  

Recyclage 101: which product goes where?

  These major lines are memorized to transform the once tedious recycling chore into child's play. Please note: the packaging of beauty products that cannot be recycled in our municipality can often be recycled through TerraCycle. We go to his site ( terracycle.com ) to get the correct time.   Plastic bottles   "All plastics are recyclable, except those on which the number 6 is stamped [figure found in a small triangle under the packaging] and on which there is nothing indicated", underlines Jean-François Lesage , planning advisor in the Direction of residual materials management of the City of Montreal. He reminded us that we have to clean our containers for hygienic reasons before sending them to sorting centers.   Pumps and pipettes   They do not recycle. So, if one of our products has one of these tips, we unscrew it and dispose of it before putting the container for recycling!   Makeup   As the cases of our cosmetics are often made of several materials that are difficult to separate from each other, they generally do not recycle. "Laminated tubes [a type of flexible plastic packaging often used for foundations and make-up bases] are also not accepted," says Jean-François Lesage.   Mascara   The tube, too difficult to clean, does not recycle. The brush is washed in soapy water and sent to the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge ( appalachianwild.org ), an organization in North Carolina that uses it to clean the fur of small, vulnerable animals.   Aerosols   As a safety issue, they cannot be recycled through the usual municipal recycling system. "Aerosols and pressurized containers can explode if they are heated or punctured," says our expert. We do not despair! They are accepted in eco-centers and when collecting hazardous household waste.   Makeup brushes   Like makeup cases, brushes do not mix with recycling because of the range of materials that make them up (plastic, metal, bristles, etc.). Before saying goodbye to them, we probe our surroundings to find out if a friend might need them, or we give them a second life by adding them to the children's artist's kit or using them as nail brushes, for example!   Glass containers   "Glass is fully recyclable and can be repeatedly collected without ever affecting its quality," said Alex Payne of TerraCycle. It makes it one of the most eco-friendly materials. ” Warning! In the case of a perfume, we make sure to separate the bottle from its atomizer, since the latter does not recycle.   Nail polish   Since the containers are almost impossible to clean, they cannot be recycled directly - they are part of the category of household hazardous waste (HHW). So we bring them to the ecocentre nearest to us.   Cleansing wipes   Unless they are biodegradable - we could then compost them - they take the garbage path.  

"Pamper the next one"

  If for various reasons (an impulse purchase, perhaps?) Unused products clutter our pharmacy, we turn to organizations for women in need. One thinks in particular of the Fairies Marraines ( feesmarraines.ca ), which give the necessities to the teenagers coming from underprivileged environments so that they can put themselves beautiful for their graduation, or The stuff of success ( dressforsuccessmontreal.org ), which supports women in difficult situations who wish to (re) enter the labor market.  

An app to facilitate recycling

  Last spring, the company RECYC-QUÉBEC launched the application C'est va Où? The objective: to clarify, according to our municipality, which products are intended for the trash, the recycling bin or the eco-center. The information remains summary, so if question marks persist, we complete our search on recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca.   The article 4 gestures to adopt for a responsible beauty routine appeared first on Elle Quebec .