U.K. cosmetics company Lush contracts with British eco-manufacturer Remarkable to recycle its black plastic cosmetic pots into packaging, other products, also begins in-store collection systems for its black pot products, plastic bottle tops

Bdebbie Garcia

LOS ANGELES , November 18, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Lush Retail Ltd. has started a new program to recycle its black plastic cosmetics pots collected from stores in northern England and also launched in-store collections for the pots and plastic bottle tops, reported the Environmental Data Interactive Exchange on Nov. 16.

Remarkable Ltd. will take the pots and turn them into new pots for Lush, packaging for the Pillar of Fizz and such limited edition products as the Cyclist Repair Kit, as well as promotional badges.

Lush’s black plastic pots, as well as plastic bottle caps, are recovered in the company’s take-back program and sent to Lush’s pot manufacturer in Poole or to Remarkable’s eco-factory in Worcester, England, according to the article, which was posted on Edie.net.

Remarkable puts the pots through a process in which they are washed, turned into small plastic chips and melted back into new pots for retail use.

Dorset, England-based Lush looks for ways to recycle its black plastic pots because not all municipalities collect polypropylene plastic and not all manufacturers can reuse the plastic.

The company realized it needed to find a company with a process that could convert the black plastic pots into new products, and this would provide a more sustainable package for Lush, said Maria Feast, Lush’s packaging buyer, Edie.net reported.

In selecting its packaging, Lush thinks “carefully about the journey it undertakes, both in getting it to us and when it leaves,” she said.

The company, which makes products designed to have fewer preservatives and less packaging, wanted packaging made from a polymer that was easier to recycle, reported Edie.net.

The primary source of this article is the Environmental Data Interactive Exchange on Edie.net, Surrey, England, on Nov. 16, 2011.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.