Boots recycles more one tonne of plastic packaging under new scheme

In September Boots and make-up brand, No.7 launched a new recycling initiative encouraging customers to bring back the empty packaging of hard-to-recycle health, beauty, and wellness products.

Since its launch, the scheme has seen 104,235 products deposited using the innovative Scan2Recycle technology, with No7 the top beauty brand that has been recycled.

Yorkshire-based recycling company Reworked is taking care of the full-service recycling element of the campaign; specialising in innovative ways of dealing with hard-to-recycle plastics.

Since the September launch, Boots has recycled 1,150 kg (over one tonne) of plastic, thanks to the dedication of its sustainability savvy customers. The initiative has seen more than 30,000 customers signing up to take part in the scheme, scanning in 104,235 empty products using the Scan2Recycle technology.

The scheme is currently available in 50 stores across the UK and is the first of its kind to come to market, allowing customers to recycle empty health, beauty and wellness products* (even from brands not stocked at Boots) – with customers receiving £5 worth of Boots Advantage Card Points when five products are deposited.

The top products deposited to date are:
Toothpaste
Mascara
Hand wash
Lipstick
Foundation
Manual toothbrush
Face moisturiser
Body lotion
Face serum
Face cream

The top 10 brands deposited are:
No7
Boots own brand
Colgate
L’Oreal
Nivea
Dove
Garnier
Clinique
Oral B
Rimmel

There are some exclusions to the scheme. For health and safety reasons, Boots states that it cannot accept aerosol cans, perfume bottles, nail polish bottles, hair dyes, brow and eyelash tints, safety razors and razor blades, disposable razors and razor heads, used PPE (disposable masks, gloves and visors), food packaging including crisps, medicine, vitamins and supplements blister packs and foils; any electrical items such as hairdryers and straighteners and any medical devices, electrical or not. From December 27, the retailer will also no longer accept some items that can easily be recycled from home, including shampoo, conditioner and body wash bottles.

ReWorked has been named as Boots official recycling partner for the scheme and will be taking care of all the items deposited. With over 30 years of experience in the recycling industry, the firm is an expert in all areas of sustainability. However, its specialism is in hard-to-recycle plastics that others often deem as ‘non-recyclable’. ReWorked is repurposing the materials into new items, such as storage containers to be reused within Boots warehouses for years to come.

The top 10 of the 50 Boots stores currently participating are:
Leicester Fosse Park Shopping Centre (5,638 items)
London 361 Oxford Street Sedley Place (4,951 items)
Brighton North Street (4,758 items)
Dartford Bluewater (4,669 items)
Bournemouth Castle Point Shopping Park (4,528 items)
Birmingham Fort Dunlop (4,450 items)
Birmingham The Bull Ring Shopping Centre (4,413 items)
Cardiff Queen Street (3,691 items)
Cheltenham High Street (3,630 items)
Birmingham High Street (3,527 items)