At TerraCycle, we develop first-of-their-kind processes for recycling complex waste streams, like beauty products, that are not accepted in municipal recycling programs due to their size and composition of multiple materials.
It all starts in our research and development labs, where our in-house scientists develop technical recycling solutions. They first work to understand the material composition of the products, and once they define a process, our Operations team leverages our network to find third-party facilities with the capabilities and equipment to bring our innovative solutions to life.
Though the waste may be complex and the processing solutions highly-technical, we make it easy for you to recycle your beauty products with us! No need to wash and clean out every lipstick tube and mascara wand—we’ll recycle all accepted waste.
Want to start recycling your beauty empties? It's easy! Browse all beauty and personal care recycling programs.
When you send us your shipment of beauty waste, we receive it at one of our many TerraCycle Material Recovery Facilities, which are located in the same country in which the waste originates.
When a shipment is opened, we do a visual inspection and sort out any non-compliant waste. Compliant waste is aggregated so it can be efficiently sent to one of our processing partners.
Because beauty packaging often has residual product in it, these items are shredded and then washed so they can be properly separated and recycled.
✓ We guarantee that we recycle all of the accepted beauty waste sent to us through our free and paid recycling programs. Learn more about our third-party auditing and verification.
Our sales team and processing partners then sell the materials to manufacturers who produce new products and complete the recycling journey. These end products may include things like shipping pallets, thermoform packaging, piping, conduit and other industrial products, outdoor furniture, and much more. We also make our own line of products from the recycled material.