Close the Loop, with the support of the Australian Government, is running a trial to collect all brands of makeup and beauty for product packaging recycling.
Cosmetic packaging is difficult to recycle through traditional means. Residue product is challenging to extract, and the mixed nature of materials used often results in the majority of products ending up in landfill.
To ensure products don’t end up in landfill, Close the Loop will sort the recycled items into eight categories and re-manufacture into new products.
Hard and soft plastics will be shredded and used in Close the Loop’s TonerPlas asphalt additive, as well as in the company’s Resin8 concrete additive. Metals will be separated and sent to a metals recycling facility, and glass will be crushed for use as a sand replacement in building materials for the construction industry. Materials that cannot be processed will be used to fire a low-carbon emissions cement kiln, ensuring that no products collected will be sent to landfill.
“This Australian Government, industry, and sector partnership can pave the way for the global cosmetics industry to become much more sustainable,” says Joe Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Close the Loop Group. “It is a great example of what can be achieved when all stakeholders work together to enable end-of-life products to be efficiently collected, and then recycled or remanufactured into other products – a true circular economy in action,” he said.
To find out more about the initiative, including collection points and accepted products, please visit Close the Loop.