I don’t wear a lot of makeup — to the point that I pretty much have to buy new mascara any time I want to wear it because the old stuff is, well, too old. One of my friends, however, is working on detoxifying her makeup routine after doing some searching into what’s in the stuff she’s using via Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, and is concerned about what to do with the old stuff. It made me realize, I’ve just been chucking those old tubes of mascara in with my regular garbage.
So I started to look around, starting with the Household Hazardous Waste list at the Hartland Landfill:
Household hazardous waste (HHW) is any waste from your home that you consider to be dangerous or of which you are unsure. It includes any leftover household product that is marked flammable, corrosive, explosive or poison. Common examples are pesticides, varnishes, paints, cleaners, and batteries.
The only item from the cosmetic table that shows up on that list however is nail polish and remover.
Many pharmacies participate in the Medications Return Program for expired pharmaceuticals so I wondered if they would also take back old makeup. Turns out, they don’t. However, some do take back empty containers and/or packaging:
- Origins cosmetics will take back cosmetic packaging (including empty tubes, cases, etc.) regardless of brand — the Bay carries Origins and should participate in this program.
- M.A.C. offers the Back to M.A.C program — return six containers (by mail or to a store/counter) and get a free lipstick.
The best information out there that I can find seems to be to empty all the containers into one jar or heavy/freezer weight zippered plastic bag and put that in your regular trash for the landfill then return the empty containers as above or in your CRD blue box (rigid plastics should be accepted).
Other tips:
- Don’t share old cosmetics. eye shadow, eye liner and mascara can all harbour harmful bacteria so please don’t give them to charity or give them to kids as “play make up” — most eye-related cosmetics should only be kept/used for 3 to 6 months after they are opened.
- Eye liners and lip liners can be used in construction for marking wood for cuts or marking locations of junction boxes, etc. Know a contractor? Offer them your old makeup pencils!
- Some artists incorporate powdered shadows, blushes and other cosmetics into paintings but this should be done with caution if you do not know exactly what is in your makeup.
- Another option might be tinting polymer clay — again, proceed with caution as I cannot find any tutorials that explain the process or warn of any potential pitfalls.
Finally, here’s a helpful article from Ecolife, How to Recycle Cosmetics and Makeup, though it deals primarily with the containers and packaging and not the contents.
Do you have any tips or suggestions? I’d love to hear them.