New research from the company found that 80% of the British public holds onto empty or “almost empty” beauty or toiletry products in their bathrooms.
Beauty fans who regularly wear makeup have the biggest numbers of such products in their bathrooms – almost half (48%) have at least three, one in four (25%) have five, and one in 10 (10%) have upwards of seven. One in five (20%) will also hold onto these products for months at a time.
Candice Smith, head of ESG at Boots, said: “Many of us are guilty of holding on to products in the bathroom unnecessarily – either it’s the last bit of product that you can’t bear to throw out, you have an empty bottle you keep forgetting to put into the kitchen recycling bin, or you are holding on to items you don’t think you can recycle.
“This spring we want to help by encouraging everyone to finish every drop of those forgotten products and recycle the empties at your local Boots. You can clear more space in your bathroom and get rewarded in the process – a spring clean win!”
The Boots scheme gives customers 500 Boots Advantage Card points (worth £5) for every five eligible empty health and beauty product deposited when they spend £10 in-store.
The “Recycle at Boots” scheme is available at 800 stores nationwide and accepts hundreds of products including mascara wands, wipe packaging, travel minis, serum tubes, toothbrushes and more.
Boots’ research also showed that almost half of Brits (48%) who don’t currently recycle aren’t sure what can be recycled and where. At the same time, two in five (40%) say clearer information would encourage them to recycle their health and beauty empties.
Smith added: “In your Big Beauty Clean Up, don’t forget that any unopened health and beauty items can also be donated to The Hygiene Bank, to help those experiencing hygiene poverty, at over 600 drop off points in Boots stores.”
The recycling scheme is a partnership with waste management company MYGroup. Last month the company also announced an extension of its blister pack recycling scheme to 800 Boots stores.
The challenges of bathroom recycling
Yesterday (12 March 2025), Martin Hyde, sustainability and public affairs manager at Alupro, published an opinion-editorial in Letsrecycle.com regarding the challenges of bathroom recycling.
He encouraged the public to put a split bin in the bathroom to make recycling easier.
He explained: “By using a split bin, two-tier bin, or twin pedal bins, it would be possible to capture an important tonnage of perfectly recyclable material every year – such as aerosols – with minimal disruption to daily routines. It’s a quick and robust way to overcome habitual behavioural barriers.
“Separating at source would allow householders to better segregate streams, which would improve overall capture volumes and directly increase recycling rates in result.”
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