Plastic bottles are often used to house beauty products due to their lightweight nature and affordability. Unfortunately, most plastic bottles cannot be recycled due to the type of plastic being used, and the fact that they may have several components glued to each other that cannot be separated. Once finished with, many of these plastic bottles are simply disposed of in landfill, causing harm to our planet.
There are many alternatives to plastic to be considered including glass, aluminium and innovative, home-compostable options. Check that the manufacturer hasn’t used any linings (usually made from plastic) as these will inhibit the recycling process. If plastic must be used, opt for a high PCR (post consumer recycled) content, and look for mono-material bottles as these tend to be more easily recycled than mixed-material. Almost all plastic products display the recycling symbol of a triangle formed by three circling arrows. The number in the triangle (1-7) indicates the type of plastic and its recyclability in each geographical area.