RecycleSmart expands program for managing post-consumer cosmetics waste

This month the Canadian waste and recycling management services company announced an e-commerce partnership with TerraCycle. It’s an effort meant to divert more cosmetics and personal care waste from landfills and incineration.

Making the boxes and recycling service available online should mean that RecycleSmart can reach and serve more customers and divert more waste in the process.

“We are ecstatic to begin a partnership with RecycleSmart since both organizations share a common mission of increasing waste diversion and offering additional recycling options in Canada,” Sunil Kaushik, senior manager of TerraCycle Canada, tells the press. “Through RecycleSmart’s website, businesses and individuals can now purchase Zero Waste Boxes to recycle many items previously deemed non-recyclable, from coffee capsules to safety equipment.”

The distinctive TerraCycle waste collection boxes are designed to make gathering and transporting used packaging straightforward. And this new e-commerce partnership, which is online at recyclesmart.myshopify.com makes the boxes more widely available. “We are pleased to work with TerraCycle in expanding our online product offering and our shared mission to implement innovative processes of waste diversion,” Colin Bell, managing partner at RecycleSmart, says in a press release. “As a forward-thinking company, we are constantly searching for new waste management methods for our customers that also positively impact the environment. TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Boxes are valuable contributors to this goal.”

Unboxing

The box is just a vehicle for RecycleSmart’s services. The boxes for cosmetics recycling can be filled with empty hair care, skin care, and cosmetic packaging. There are some things that aren’t accepted, like devices and electronics (blow dryers, straighteners, etc.), packaging that still contains product, and broken glass.

And full boxes are UPSed at no additional cost back to RecycleSmart for processing. “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into fibers and plastics,” explains the company site. “The fibers (such as paper or wood based products) are recycled or composted. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic.”