But it's recyclable! The problem of plastic packaging

The cosmetics industry generates approximately 120 billion units of packaging every year, the majority of which is plastic. The giants of the industry keep telling us they are reducing plastic use, but not fast enough. In the meantime, we're told to recycle our plastic bottles. But are recyclable plastic cosmetics bottles a sustainable option?

Photo by Muhammad Numan on Unsplash

Here in the UK, many of us have a bin collected by the council for plastic, which they tell us is sent for recycling. But is it? According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, ​'since 1950, the beginning of large-scale plastic production, only 9% of the world’s plastic has been recycled.' A recent undercover investigation by Greenpeace UK revealed that thousands of tonnes of plastic put into recycling bins in this country was actually burnt in incinerators, most of which were located in low-income areas. Burning plastic generates toxic fumes that are known to cause serious lung conditions for people living nearby. But most of the plastic waste the UK generates isn't incinerated here. Instead, it's dumped on poorer countries for them to deal with as best they can, often by similarly incinerating it. According to Greenpeace, '​the amount [of plastic] the UK sends abroad is the equivalent of three and a half Olympic swimming pools every single day.' 

​It's also important to understand what the term 'recycling' really means. By definition, to recycle something should mean the item is broken down into its constituent parts (i.e. the raw materials that made it) and then reformed into another version of the same product. Crucially, it needs to be the same quality as the original product, otherwise that is 'downcycling' not 'recycling'. For example, a piece of paper can be broken down into paper pulp and then reformed into a new piece of paper. Glass and aluminium can be recycled again and again without losing quality. The same can rarely be said of plastic, however. Some of the issues were mentioned in the video clip above. Coloured plastic cannot usually be redyed, and the kinds of plastic used in cosmetics bottles are usually very low-grade plastic, so there is nowhere to go in terms of downcycling. The bottles are also generally too small for machinery to pick up, and recycling companies are not about to pay workers to pick it up by hand. 

You might have seen schemes in your local supermarket or online which claim to recycle your cosmetics packaging. However, the Plastic Pollution Coalition reports: 'Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Cleanup recently published a fact sheet indicating that “recycling by mail” programs are largely greenwashing because the plastics that are collected and sent back are downcycled into other products and eventually incinerated or sent to landfills.' They go on to explain that the only real solution to tackling plastic pollution is to avoid using it in the first place. 

And plastic doesn't just end up in landfills and dumped on the beaches of poorer countries. It's filling the sewers, the waterways, the sea... the list goes on. Many cosmetics also contain non-biodegradable ingredients that add to the problem, which we'll talk more about in a later article. A 2020 report by Greenpeace USA concluded that 'mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic waste fails because plastic waste is extremely difficult to collect, virtually impossible to sort for recycling, environmentally harmful to reprocess, often made of and contaminated by toxic materials, and not economical to recycle.' Meanwhile, a recent Guardian article quotes Graham Forbes, leader of Greenpeace USA’s global plastics campaign: 'But … the toxicity of plastic actually increases with recycling. Plastics have no place in a circular economy and it’s clear that the only real solution to ending plastic pollution is to massively reduce plastic production.' 

​​So what's the alternative? I've done a lot of research into packaging options for my products. It isn't always as simple as it might seem, because there are so many factors to consider, including the type of product, how the ingredients might react with certain materials, how vulnerable the product is to contamination if customers are dipping their fingers into it, the availability and affordability of different options, the feasibility of filling containers and the weight of the finished product. Where possible, I've opted for glass options, but these aren't always practical. I originally used glass jars for my bath salts, for example, but I decided that they just didn't work because the size and weight of the jar meant that customers couldn't return them in the post for reuse, and we all know that the first step in the zero waste pyramid is 'reuse'. You'll notice that a small number of my products contain plastic dispensers, because to date I haven't been able to source a suitable alternative. However, they are a durable plastic which means that I can sterilise and reuse them if you return the bottles to me. 

Of course, packaging doesn't stop with the bottles and jars. Labels on cosmetics are frequently laminated i.e. coated in plastic, so are not recyclable even if they are made of paper, because the plastic is bonded irrevocably to the paper. Glues are often made with non-biodegradable elements and often contain animal ingredients. My labels are all made of natural paper of one sort or another, with minimal treatments applied, and plant-based natural glues. I've taken the same approach to outer packaging, avoiding it altogether where possible, and keeping things simple where it must be included. I've generally opted for digital printing with vegetable-based inks, meaning the boxes don't look as glossy as some other cosmetics boxes might, but they are very easy to recycle and non-toxic to the environment should they end up there. 

I've also worked hard to ensure that plastic waste is eliminated from my production. I use glass and stainless steel equipment to make my products, so that everything can be cleaned and reused indefinitely. This includes my beakers, scoops, stirrers and pipettes. 

For certain products that require moulds, like soaps, lipsticks and shampoo bars, I've generally opted for silicone, as it is very long-lasting due to its inert nature and flexibility, meaning it won't crack after repeated use. It is possible to use wooden moulds for soaps, but they are more difficult to use and break down over time, as the wood reacts with the soap, which risks splinters getting into the product. For my shampoo bars, I managed to find a local company that could 3D print a bar press using biodegradable materials. 

I'm also very picky about the packaging used by my ingredient suppliers. I favour suppliers that use entirely eco-friendly packaging, and in some cases where the choice exists from the supplier, I pay slightly more to have the product sent to me in an aluminium container rather than plastic. These containers can then be reused for storage of other ingredients later. There are still certain ingredients where there is no option that does not involve plastic packaging, but I am actively working with suppliers to find a solution to this. In the meantime, buying in bulk reduces the packaging overall and larger containers are more likely to recycled, albeit that is not a long-term solution. I reuse all of the packaging from my suppliers when sending out my own products. This is generally hex-wrap and shredded paper, though you may occasionally find glass bottles wrapped in bubble wrap. This is because other members of my household who are not always so eco-conscious sometimes order things which come wrapped in bubble wrap, so rather than throw it away, I repurpose it to package my products. You can rest assured that I never purchase this kind of packaging. 

Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on removing plastic from the industry, and let me know if you'd like to hear more about my journey to make Natur Cosmetics zero waste. 

Resources: 
https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2022/1/25/the-ugly-side-of-beauty-the-cosmetics-industrys-plastic-packaging-problem 
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/plastic-recycling-export-incineration/#:~:text=You%20shouldn't%20stop%20recycling,people%20aren't%20recycling%20enough.
​https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/new-greenpeace-report-plastic-recycling-is-a-dead-end-street-year-after-year-plastic-recycling-declines-even-as-plastic-waste-increases/ 
​​https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/24/recycled-plastic-more-toxic-no-fix-pollution-greenpeace-warns