Demand for cosmetics is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. TerraCycle chief executive officer Tom Szaky highlights how consumers can demand that their favourite brands reduce waste from cosmetic products and packaging.

The Sustainable Activity Centre launched a series of recycling containers on Wednesday, which will allow people to recycle containers used for beauty, cleaning and dental products, plus pens and postage packaging. Centre director Claire Greenhalgh said she was excited to get involved in the national TerraCycle program.

Freshwater State School is also a hive of activity in the lead-up to their annual event. As part of one initiative, students are collecting used dental hygiene products as part of a TerraCycle Oral Care Recycling Program.

Beauty and cosmetic packaging poses a challenge when it comes to recycling. It is complex by nature, and is typically made out of a denser, harder type of plastic that can be difficult to recycle, with multiple materials often used in the one product.

Bathroom drawers around the world are straining under the weight of half-used lipsticks, barely touched eyeshadow palettes and dried-up mascaras that are usually months (if not years) past their expiry date. These products, once finally discarded by their owners, have typically ended up in landfill — adding to the already enormous strain on the environment. The good news is you can now recycle your used beauty, hair and skincare products, and it won't cost you a cent.

L'Oréal Australia has partnered with TerraCycle to launch a collection and recycling service for consumers. Beauty and personal care packaging from any company can be taken to a collection point and recycled for free. "TerraCycle's focus is taking traditionally unrecyclable products and making them recyclable to divert as much waste as possible from landfill," Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, told The Huffington Post Australia.

L'Oreal are doing more for the environment than most government bodies. The cosmetics giant has joined forces with Terracycle which will collect and process all of our beauty products, recycle them and melt them into plastics ready to be turned into frisbees or park benches. L'Oreal encourage you to send in empty make-up products to save them from landfill, they'll even pay the postage. To learn more head to terracycle.com.au

ACT Whitsundays is a small local charity group that has been working with TerraCycle, a "global leader in recycling". Collection bins would be deposited at libraries in the Whitsundays and then be collected by ACT Whitsundays and for-warded to TerraCycle for recycling.

Sustainable Brands (SB16) called out “now is the time for business leaders to learn how to successfully innovate their brands to ensure a sustainable future.” Local and international presenters and over 200 delegates came from food, retail, building products, transport and infrastructure, insurance, architecture and construction, banks, energy, technology, medicine, government agencies, corporates and a smattering of smaller businesses.