Where to recycle your empty makeup products in the Rochdale borough

You can recycle empty makeup containers with the Makeup Not Make Waste scheme

You can now recycle your empty makeup containers at several locations in the Rochdale borough, thanks to a new partnership between recycling firm Terracycle and L’Oreal.

The company’s Maybelline brand launched 1,000 recycling bins across the UK in Tesco, Sainsbury’s Superdrug and Boots stores last month for its Makeup Not Make Waste scheme.

All brands of makeup are accepted – not just Maybelline – although some products can’t be accepted by the programme, like makeup brushes and nail polish.

Aerosols, glass bottles and cardboard packaging also can’t be accepted, but these are collected at a kerbside level.

Containers collected from the bins will be separated by polymer type, cleaned and then turned into plastic pellets to make new recycled products.

What can be accepted?

• Compacts and palettes, such as eyeshadows, powders & blushers
• Mascaras including the plastic tube and wand and liners such as retractable plastic liners or liquid eye liners
• Lip products such as plastic lip gloss tubes or bullet lipstick tubes
• Plastic tubes and bottles such as foundation or concealer tubes
• Other makeup packaging such as caps, pumps or trigger sprays

Whilst empty containers are preferred, Maybelline says that due to how difficult cleaning some products may be (such as a mascara tube), it is happy to accept old makeup with some residue product.

These locations in the Rochdale borough are accepting empty makeup containers:

• Superdrug, Riverside Walk, Rochdale
• Boots, Riverside Walk, Rochdale
• Tesco, Silk Street, Rochdale
• Tesco Extra, Park Road, Middleton