You Can Now Recycle Your Old Beauty Products at Nordstrom

One of the smallest yet most satisfying feelings is finishing up a beauty or skincare product. There’s the sense of accomplishment in using up every last drop, and also immediately justifying either re-purchasing or finding an even better product on the market. Yet, there’s a bit of a question mark looming when I know I’m near the end of a bottle—what to do with it? I don’t want to throw it in the garbage, but is it recyclable? 

The answer is yes and no. Even if you can avoid the landfill, most beauty products get rejected by recycle programs because they’re full of so many different materials. 

That’s where BeautyCycle comes in. Nordstrom launched their recycle program in the states last year, and it’s launched in Canada this month. You can now drop off your used-up products in the BeautyCycle boxes in the beauty department of any Nordstrom. (And then immediately seek out that new sunscreen or blush that you’re now desperately in need of replacing.)

Here’s a list of every item they’re accepting (from any brand):

• Hair gel tubes and caps
• Shampoo and conditioner bottles and caps 
• Hair spray bottles and triggers
• Hair paste plastic jars and caps 
• Lip balm tubes 
• Face soap dispensers and tubes 
• Lotion bottles, tubes, dispensers, and jars 
• Shaving foam tubes (no cans) 
• Lip gloss tubes 
• Mascara tubes
• Eye liner pencils and cases 
• Eye shadow and tubes 
• Concealer tubes and sticks

And here’s what they’re currently not accepting:

• Aerosol cans 
• Perfume bottles 
• Nail polish bottles 
• Nail polish remover bottles 
• Electronic items such as blow dryers and straighteners
• Bio-medical or bio-hazardous waste or any contents of packaging 
• Nail polish