Luxury department store group Harrods has established a cosmetics packaging recycling scheme at its ‘H beauty’ store in Milton Keynes.
The three-month trial beginning 14 January will enable consumers to bring back used beauty, fragrance, and skincare products in a scheme aligned with the Harrods MyBeauty rewards programme. People are incentivised to recycle cosmetics packaging through this route in order to access a range of experiences and benefits, both online and in-store.
Yorkshire-based waste management and recycling business, MYGroup, which also works with Boots on a similar rewards for recycling programme in the health and beauty retailer’s stores, has partnered with Harrods to run the initiative and place bins next to the tills in the store.
The deposited items will then be recycled at MYGroup’s dedicated facility in Hull. Customers can even return hazardous nail polish products and fragrance bottles, which are usually considered ‘unrecyclable’.
MYGroup said it has invested in various “advanced technological processes” at its Hull facility, meaning both the packaging and inner product of the cosmetic items can be fully extracted, processed, and recycled. It means make-up items, such as compacts, mascara, and eye shadow containers, as well as shampoo and skincare bottles, are among the cosmetics packaging items that can be recycled through the programme.
According to MYGroup, the collected products will be either composted, re-purposed and returned to the supply chain, or manufactured into MYGroup’s unique solution for ‘unrecyclable’ plastic waste, which is called MYboard. The material is similar in consistency to plywood, and can be used widely for construction, joinery, shop and event fittings.
The group’s ‘ReFactory’ team can also use the would-be waste material to manufacture products for sale or use in community settings, such as benches and desks for schools.
Mia Collins, head of beauty at Harrods, remarked: “The launch of the scheme marks another incredible milestone for Harrods and H beauty, showcasing our commitment to bringing a more circular and sustainable shopping experience to our customers and encouraging the H beauty community to recycle beauty packaging and products that are not able to be recycled by traditional kerbside collections.”
Steve Carrie, director at MYGroup, added: “MYGroup is trusted by a growing number of high-profile, forward-thinking partners in the retail space, who see the tangible, visible difference our in-store takeback schemes can make to meeting their sustainability goals.”
Read more about MYGroup’s work in retail on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Austin Hutton for Harrods]
