UK department store business Selfridges has launched a nationwide beauty and cosmetics recycling scheme, allowing customers to return beauty empties such as hard-to-recycle fragrance bottles.
Run in partnership with MYGroup, which also works with Boots and Harrods to provide similar recycling schemes, the new initiative is dubbed ‘Reselfridges Recycle’ and is now available at all Selfridges beauty halls spanning its Birmingham, Manchester and London’s Oxford Street stores.
Like at Boots, the recycling scheme incentivises consumers with special rewards. People can collect a ‘Selfridges Unlocked Key’ for every five items recycled as part of the retailer’s membership programme, which opens up access to products, experiences, and services that are not available to everyone.
But unlike Boots, Reselfridges Recycle is allowing consumers to recycle fragrance bottles, which are often excluded from both kerbside recycling and other in-store takeback schemes due to residual hazardous contents and mixed packaging materials.
Used perfume, aftershave, and other fragrance bottles can be returned via the Selfridges’ scheme, including those still containing fragrance.
MYGroup, which holds permits to process hazardous and complex waste streams, manages the full end-to-end collection and processing of items returned through Reselfridges Recycle at its specialist facility in Hull. Packaging materials and residual cosmetic product are recovered at the site, and returned to supply chains or remanufactured into new products through its ‘ReFactory’ arm, thus avoiding landfill.
Selfridges Trafford Centre trialled the recycling scheme in 2025. The number of Unlocked Keys collected increased by 271% between September and November, coinciding with the cosmetics takeback programme, highlighting its popularity.
Steve Carrie, group director at MYGroup, said: “Through our schemes, we’ve now processed more than 40,000 tonnes of returned beauty and cosmetic packaging – success and experience that has helped shape this ambitious Reselfridges collaboration.
“Fragrance recycling highlights why this experience matters. These products are used at scale but are typically binned after use.”
He added: “Through Reselfridges, we’re applying our established takeback solution in a department store environment, where even the hardest-to-recycle items can be captured at scale in meaningful volumes and recovered safely.”
MYGroup is a patron member of the British Beauty Council, becoming the first waste management and recycling business to join the organisation in 2025. It is a delivery partner for the Great British Beauty Clean Up 2026, raising awareness of the opportunity presented to business and society by offering packaging takeback schemes.
[image credit: MYGroup/Selfridges]
