Recycling Beauty Products
July 21, 2009
Are you really going to use that lotion that you got at the office gift-swap party 2 Christmases ago? Ummm…no.
Chances are, you’ve got some beauty products that are — but really shouldn’t be — taking up some valuable real estate in your bathroom.
This week, I encourage you to go through your bathroom storage, tossing anything you no longer need, want, or use.
But don’t just put the bottles and boxes into the trash! Opt to be environmentally responsible.
According to a 2008 survey by O.B. Tampons, “Women confess to having about on average 12 products in their vanities. With 112,804,773 women over 20 living in the U.S., that’s a lot of packaging! Unfortunately, according to the EPA, approximately 1/3 of landfill waste is made up of this type of packaging.”
If you’d like to help improve the statistics, here’s a quick and easy way to recycle your old beauty products and reduce your overall waste footprint:
Take your trash stash of old bottles, jars, and tubes to any of the 550 Origin stores or department store counters.
As part of the “Return to Origins” recycling program, Origins will accept beauty products from any brand, ultimately converting donations into energy or recycled packaging.[LG]Here’s a Vanity Caddy for what you keep![/LG]
What’s your secret to recycling beauty products or toiletries?
You might consider donating any of those scented lotions to a local shelter. The women there would love them. Just please don’t donate any that are old (expired) or have been used.
Hey – that’s a great idea, Sara! Thanks!
I agree with Sara about donating to a shelter. When I have a sizable amount of toiletries, make-up, bathroom products, etc., I head over to the Los Angeles Free Clinic and donate the items to the guard. It keep the stuff out of the landfill, and helps those less fortunate. They’ve made the drop off relatively easy, a key component to the donation location process.
John aka OrganizingLA
John Trosko’s last blog post..Typepad to Celebrate The OrganizingLA Blog 4th Birthday This Wednesday!
I’m guilty of still having products left over from a long time ago (well not that long) that I don’t use anymore. This is a great effort from Origins to recycle, kudos to them!
Every time I go on vacation I make sure I take handfuls of the soaps and lotions to donate to our local shelter.
I usually give the beauty products I don’t use to my friends or relatives. I always make sure that I buy only those what I need.
Unwanted products are always a problem. This is a great solution.
As long as it is safe, I’ll go for it.