Marks & Spencer has partnered with HANDLE, a beauty recycling company, to launch a Beauty Takeback Scheme in over 40 UK stores. This initiative permits customers to recycle any form of plastic or aluminium beauty packaging.
Packaging solutions may vary from plastic or aluminium bottles and tubes to caps, pumps, and tubs. These recyclable items can be collected through any retailer when a user drops them into dedicated boxes placed in an M&S store's cosmetics segment.
The programme aims to collect over two tonnes of empty beauty packaging within the first 12 months and build towards a circular system where new products and packaging are created from the materials collected.
To mark the launch, M&S Sparks customers who recycle their beauty packaging through the scheme will receive 10% off Beauty at M&S from 8 June to 5 July. This initiative builds on the success of other sustainability schemes across M&S's Clothing & Home and Food businesses, demonstrating their commitment to supporting customers to live lower-carbon lifestyles.
The Head of ESG at M&S, Carmel McQuaid, mentioned in a statement: "We're passionate about creating simple solutions that help our customers live lower carbon lives. Plastic is one of the biggest challenges facing the beauty industry, and whilst there is still lots more to do, we hope this scheme encourages customers to recycle their beauty empties to give them a second life and reduce the amount of packaging that goes to landfill. Alongside our other schemes, including Shwopping and plastic take back, it's one of the many ways we're driving the circular economy on our roadmap to net zero."
The Co-Founder of Handle Recycling, Tom Murgatroyd, said: "We are thrilled to announce our partnership with M&S, our mission is to reduce the environmental impact of Beauty Packaging, and this partnership helps to elevate awareness and action toward this mission to the next level. We seek partners who wish to engage in complex issues and that have talented and committed teams to help and support the goals they set out. We aim to support the M&S Plan A initiative with projects that promote reuse and circularity, as both are challenging yet critical aspirations for us all to attain for the sake of our planet and future generations".
Packaging is one of the biggest sustainability challenges that the beauty industry faces. Recently, we have seen renowned brands like Benefit Cosmetics, Chanel, The Body Shop and L'Occitane venture into the use of sustainable packaging options.
HANDLE works with retailers, brands, and manufacturers to create better end-of-life options for beauty packaging materials and components that often fall out of mainstream municipal recycling.
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