Cosmetics retailer Lush has a very clear mission: “Leave the world Lusher than we found it”. One way Lush does this is through its commitment to recycling and the creation of packaging-free products. In another attempt to lessen its footprint on the Earth, on May 10, Lush Australia and New Zealand will launch a new recycling initiative called ‘Bring It Back‘.
This new program encourages customers to bring back any full-sized Lush plastic packaging to their local Lush store to be recycled. When you do this, you’ll receive a $1 deposit to spend on your Lush purchases for that day. How good! The returned packaging will then be sent to TerraCycle — an organisation that recycles hard-to-recycle materials.
The Bring It Back scheme will join Lush’s pre-existing recycling program that encourages customers to bring back five items of Lush plastic packaging in exchange for a fresh mask. According to the beauty retailer, this initiative sees roughly 11,000 pots come back to Lush every months. This works out to be about 132,000 returned pots per year.
Lush was inspired to create this program after its Earthcare team learnt that only 12 percent of plastic waste is recycled locally in Australia. And, while the majority of the packaging created by Lush is recyclable, the company wants to take more ownership of their plastic packaging to ensure their tubs, pots and bottles are given a new life if possible.
“This scheme is about taking accountability for the plastics that we put into the world,” Elisia Gray, Lush’s ethical buyer for Australia and New Zealand, said in a press release. “While I am very proud that Lush has used 100 percent recycled plastics for our products for as long as I can remember this is the next step in truly making sure we close the loop and ensuring that plastics are being recycled and refashioned into new products.”
The Bring It Back program will be available in Lush stores across Australia and New Zealand from May 10.
