Plastic isn’t the root of all evil, but human reliance on the synthetic stuff is definitely creating a massive problem for the planet. That’s where Lush comes in. We’re working hard on minimising our packaging footprint, which means our plastic packaging is plain, simple, recycled or even non-existent where we’ve reformulated naked alternatives. But if you’re super attached to a potted or bottled product, and want to do your bit to save the planet too, this handy recycling guide will give you all the know-how you need.

Black and clear Lush pots

All of our PP (polypropylene plastic) product pots (AKA the black or clear ones) are made from 100% recycled materials, that then go straight back into our ‘closed-loop’ recycling system when you return them in-store. We take them from you, give ‘em another clean (we’d appreciate it if you gave them a good rinse out for us first, it can get a bit grubby in there if products left to lurk for a long time) and ship them over to the Green Hub where they get melted down and remade into black pots over and over again.

What counts in the bring back five pots scheme?

  • Any full-sized black PP pot (not including sample pots).
  • Any full-sized clear PP pot (the clear pots that shower jellies come in).
  • Black PP mascara, lipstick wands and loose powder make-up tubs.

 

Whilst we don’t accept body spray bottles in the black pot scheme (as they are HDPE plastic and not PP plastic so they cannot go into the same waste stream) you can bring them in-store to be sent back to the Green Hub to be recycled.

How to recycle your black and clear plastic pots:

  1. Give your pots a good wash when you’ve finished the product inside. (Get ‘em squeaky clean, please!)
  2. When you’ve collected five, take them to your local Lush store so we can send them off to the Green Hub in Poole.
  3. Receive a complimentary fresh face mask as a thank you.

Also feel free to upcycle our black pots. They’re handy storage containers when you are travelling, or great to pot plants with.

Plastic bottles

Our plastic bottles are made from PET clear plastic. This is the most widely recycled plastic in the world and almost every local council around the UK and Ireland will take these in household recycling bins. Whilst we could recycle them for you, it would take up a lot of extra resources to do so. We suggest that you pop these bad boys into your recycling bin at home (after giving them a good thorough clean of course).

How to recycle your plastic bottles:

  1. When you have used all the product, wash them well.
  2. Pop them into your recycling bin.

Plastic bottle tops/Lush black bottle tops

The good news is around 50% of UK and Ireland councils do accept bottle tops! If your local council doesn’t, we can accept small amounts of most drink bottle tops (soft drinks, milk, plant milk etc) in-store. These are collected to make bottle board that is used for furniture in our shops and sometimes donated to charities that can make use of them. However, we ask that you give these to us in small amounts as we don’t have the capacity to process bulk donations.

How to recycle your plastic bottle tops

  1. Remove any additional packaging attached to bottle top.
  2. Rinse ‘em out.
  3. Bring them into your local shop and we will send them to the Green Hub to be recycled for you.

Happy recycling!