Harrods and MYGroup Spearhead Nationwide Cosmetics Recycling Revolution

Harrods, the renowned luxury retailer, and waste management company MYGroup have expanded their successful cosmetics recycling initiative nationwide across Harrods’ five H beauty stores. The move comes after a prosperous trial period, particularly at the Milton Keynes store, where 200kg of beauty packaging and products were diverted from landfills and effectively recycled.

The scheme allows H beauty customers to return used beauty, make-up, and skincare products to participating stores in exchange for rewards through Harrods’ MyBeauty scheme. The programme is now operational at H beauty Bristol, Edinburgh, Lakeside, Gateshead, and Milton Keynes.

H beauty customers can recycle a variety of items, from make-up compacts and mascara containers to shampoo and skincare bottles. Dedicated bins for depositing items are conveniently located next to the tills in stores.

In a bid to tackle the issue of cosmetic packaging ending up in landfills, the H beauty recycling scheme is being reintroduced. Only 9% of cosmetic packaging is recycled through conventional household waste channels, according to the British Beauty Council.

Customers returning five or more eligible used items to any of the five H beauty stores will receive 500 bonus MyBeauty rewards points.

The MYGroup, specialising in processing cosmetic waste, manages the recycling process at its dedicated UK-based facility in Hull, East Yorkshire. The facility utilises advanced technological processes, allowing both the packaging and inner cosmetic products to be fully extracted, recovered, and recycled. The recovered packaging waste is either composted, re-purposed and returned to supply chains as raw material, or manufactured into MYGroup’s unique solution for ‘unrecyclable’ plastic waste: MYboard. Cosmetic residue is converted into bio-fuel.

Steve Carrie, Group Director at MYGroup, expressed pride in the collaboration with Harrods, stating, “Our commitment to innovation and sustainability is at the forefront of a revolution in the waste industry, and through initiatives like this scheme, we’re setting new standards for what can and can’t be recycled.”

Mia Collins, Director of Buying – Beauty at Harrods, emphasized the importance of the initiative in upholding their promise to minimize waste and increase recycling. She stated, “Together, we’re leading a transformative journey towards recycling and circularity in the beauty industry, in line with the Harrods brand commitment to responsible practices.”