A Comprehensive Guide To Being A More Environmentally Conscious Beauty Junkie
Christine is a beloved former Adore Beauty staffer and our resident go-to when it comes to trialling skincare products for acne-prone, blemish-prone skin.
Cut your beauty waste and plastic footprint by choosing refills and larger sizes like Aveda Shampure, VIRTUE Full or Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam Refill, and by using schemes such as REDcycle and Terracycle for hard to recycle items. The article lays out realistic Reduce, Reuse, Recycle swaps, cleaning tips and local recycling notes for Australian readers.
Top Insights From This Guide
- Buy larger formats like Aveda Shampure or VIRTUE Full to use less plastic.
- Opt for refill options such as Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam Refill and reuse pumps.
- Put soft plastics in REDcycle bins and remove labels and tape from cardboard packaging first.
- Clean jars and bottles thoroughly before recycling, then send lipstick tubes and mixed packaging to Terracycle.
- Recycle empty aerosol cans via council collection; 90% of Aussies have access.
Small, sustainable swaps add up: pick refill or bulk sizes, reuse sample containers for travel, clean packaging before recycling and use REDcycle or Terracycle for the tricky bits. These achievable steps reduce plastic use and keep more beauty waste out of landfill without reinventing your routine.
Sustainable living is such a can of worms, and hopefully that can is recyclable and doesn’t end up in landfill. No matter your stance, I think we can all agree that the flow on effects of reducing overconsumption and waste is worth our while.
It’s impossible to turn your life around and embody your dream minimalist overnight, so here are some hopefully achievable, realistic ways to make changes towards more sustainable beauty within your means.
But what is sustainable beauty? Let's keep this simple and stick to the classic Reduce, Reuse, Recycle framework. My grade 2 teacher would be so proud she might even forgive me for the apple core that accidentally made its way into the VISY bin that time.
Reduce
It’s simple. Buy less of what you don’t need, and put less waste into the world. Be mindful of the purchases you are looking to make. How frequently will you use this product? Does it fit into your routine? Does it ~spark joy~? Keep in mind that most products have a period-after-opening symbol to indicate how long you should use it for after it’s been opened.
Here's a tip: Buy in bulk OR choose sustainable packaging.
Bigger bottles are more cost effective long term and uses less plastic overall. Aveda Shampure Nurturing Shampoo 1000ml and VIRTUE Full Shampoo 500ml are both great options for this. They also happen to both be cruelty free and natural, which makes them winners in my book.
KEVIN.MURPHY is committed to reducing plastic, using 100% recycled ocean plastics, which saves 360 tonnes of new plastic every year. Otherwise you can avoid single use plastic with products like the Pink Clay Cleansing Bar from SALT BY HENDRIX.
A selection of brands also offer refills on certain products so you can retain parts of your product packaging that are reusable and recycle the rest. The Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam Refill 200ml for example, makes it easy to reuse the pump from the Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam 200ml.
Reuse
Find new purposes for the things you already have and choose versatile multipurpose products like Dr. Bronner Castile Liquid Soap.
Smaller bottles from samples can be reused to transport other products when you’re travelling and need to save space. No need to purchase empty plastic bottles.
Even better, if you’ve been using brands like The Ordinary who are bringing out bigger versions of their existing products, you can transfer the product to your old smaller bottles for ease of use and transportation!
Recycle
Most importantly, clean out the containers. Residual product affects the recycling process. For the most part, you should be able to just swirl some water through the bottle or jar, but for oils or stickier products, a touch of dishwashing liquid and a bit of a scrub should suffice.
Can you recycle makeup containers?
Glass: Most unbroken, clean glass is recyclable. Though not related to beauty products, FYI, glass from things like windows and light bulbs - not recyclable!
Hard plastic: Don’t even stress about the triangles. Sustainability Victoria says hard plastics with any of the seven codes can go into your yellow lidded bin.
Soft plastic: Scrunchable soft plastics can be placed into special REDcycle bins located across Australian supermarkets.
Cardboard: When it comes to our snazzy recycled cartons or other cardboard packaging you might have, make sure you are removing any labels and tape so that the rest of the box can be put in the recycling bin.
Aerosol: 90% of Aussies live in council areas that collect aerosols for recycling, so as long as these are empty, they are safe to recycle alongside your other goodies. If they are not empty, find out about your council’s hazardous waste program in order to dispose.
The older I get, the more I feel like everything I do falls into the category of Other. I’m just a touch off-kilter. But this isn’t about me. This is about recycling beauty product containers, because what DO you do with old lipstick tubes? Once excess product has been removed, you can send them to Terracycle to have them collect, separate and recycle the packaging.
