Have you ever noticed how many words us beauty people have for using up our products? There's "hit pan," which is code for cleaning out a shade in a makeup palette. There's also "empties," a cutesy way of saying you've used your products until the last drop. But the important part, at least where Mother Earth is concerned, is what comes next – and it may not be what you think. As we reported early this year, throwing empty products in your blue recycling bin with the best of intentions unfortunately isn't enough to ensure that your used packaging will have a second life. Only nine percent of all plastic waste ever produced has actually recycled. This is due in part to the complex nature of product packaging, which makes it difficult to sort for users and impossible to sort for waste management machines. Lotion pumps, for example, are typically made with a metal spring and plastic tubes. Even if you rinse it out and toss it in the bin, the multifaceted materials mean it'll end up in a landfill. Or in the ocean. Or on Trash Mountain.