How to Properly Recycle Plastic and Cardboard Packaging from Your Beauty Products
November 11, 2022How to properly recycle packaging from your beauty products

If you woke up this morning wanting to do more to help preserve this beautiful planet, then you have come to the right place!

Now that you have begun to use our clean products, we would like to show you how to finish what you started – by explaining how to properly recycle their packaging.


Why is it important to know how to properly recycle?


Three hundred million tons of plastic is produced each year and only a meager 9% of this atrocious quantity is recycled, while a paltry 12% gets incinerated1. What happens to the rest? It winds up in landfills, or much worse, in our oceans.

Furthermore, if the consumption of single-use plastic continues at this rate, the debris will form mountains in our waters. In fact, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can already be seen floating in the North Pacific Ocean, between California and Hawaii. This bona fide continent of trash is twice the size of Texas!2

Just something to ponder the next time you wonder if it’s worth recycling your beauty products. The answer is yes, it is, and here’s how to properly recycle them.


Infographic showing beauty products recyclable packaging

Plastic-free packaging


The ideal solution to reduce the amount of plastic that contaminates our planet is to consume less of it.

When possible, take the opportunity to choose products packaged in cardboard like Oceanly™ skincare, our leaves bar™ beauty bars, these distinctive mineral sunscreen sticks, or these ultra-effective plastic-free deodorants. Not only are the formulas rich and creamy, but they are completely biodegradable – as well as their containers!

Here’s how to properly recycle or compost our plastic-free packaging:


  1. If your product is packaged in a box, simply throw the box in the recycling bin.
  2. If your product comes in a tube, push hard on the bottom of the applicator to remove residue that is stuck.
  3. If there is a composting service in your municipality, check to see if compostable cardboard is accepted. If so, cut the stick and the cap into small pieces. Place them in the compost.
  4. If compostable cardboard is NOT accepted, throw it in the recycling bin without cutting it.



Plastic bottles


When it comes to plastic, some types are easier to recycle than others.

For example, #2 HDPE plastic, which is used to make shampoo and shower gel bottles, is considered the easiest to recycle. According to Recyc-Quebec, the plastic resin is the most coveted by recyclers due to its popularity amongst companies that use recycled materials.3 However, the two main issues posed by recyclers are the presence of product in the containers and label incompatibility with HDPE.

What’s the solution? See the following instructions on how to properly recycle #2 HDPE:


  1. Remove the cap and label
  2. Thoroughly rinse the bottle
  3. Place in the recycling bin – for toothpaste, be sure to cut the tube and rinse the inside thoroughly before throwing it in the recycling bin

Steps on how to recycle a HDPE plastic bottle

Eco-refills


Recycling is good, but reusing is better!

Before you decide to throw your plastic in the recycle bin, ask yourself if it can be reused for the same or a different purpose. Because our shampoo, conditioner, shower, and soap bottles are made from a plastic that is known for its strength and rigidness, they can be refilled multiple times using our 100% recyclable eco-refills.


  • BPA-free bag and spout made from 100% recyclable #7 plastic
  • 100% recyclable FSC certified cardboard box

Someone using ATTITUDE recyclable eco-refills to refill their liquid hand soap bottle

Containing up to four times more product and 81% less plastic, these bulk formats save time, money, and the planet. Put the cherry on top of this eco-friendly lifestyle by properly recycling your beauty products.

Here’s how to recycle eco-refills:


  1. Remove the bag from the cardboard box
  2. Place the cardboard box in the recycling bin
  3. Open the sachet and rinse it thoroughly to remove all product residue
  4. Place the bag in the recycling bin

Steps on how to recycle ATTITUDE eco-refills recyclable packaging

There you have it!

Remember, the policies to recycling and composting vary in different parts of the country. Be sure to advise the guidelines and standards within your municipality in order to, correctly and fully, contribute to increasing the percentage of recycled plastic in the world. 


What about packaging peanuts?


You’ve noticed that our products are protected by packaging shells when they’re delivered to your door.

“What good is buying green products if they’re just going to be delivered in a mountain of Styrofoam?” you ask yourself. You’re a diligent recycler and so are we! Which is why the packaging shells used by ATTITUDE are unlike any other: they are balls of vegetable starch!!

This fully biodegradable packaging does not contaminate groundwater, so rinse them and watch them completely disintegrate. Don’t believe us? Take a look at this video and watch the magic unfold!


Watch our video on TikTok or on Instagram.



At ATTITUDE, our mission is to give you all the necessary tools to help you adopt a lifestyle based on the circular consumption approach: recycle, reuse, recycle, and reforest.

Now that you know more on recycling beauty products, take it one step further by using these 8 actions to fight plastic waste.


  1. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/effects-of-plastic-pollution-facts-you-should-know/
  2. https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
  3. https://www.recyc-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/sites/default/files/documents/fiche-contenants-emballages-hdpe2.pdf (Only available in French)

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Written by Team ATTITUDE