The environmental friendliness of beauty product packaging is a huge challenge facing the industry.
One of the problems in the cosmetics industry is the use of too many different types of plastics. Part of the problem is that if there are no regulations, nothing will change. Just like the reason why beverage manufacturers cannot give up plastic Beverage Bottle .
The environmental friendliness of beauty product packaging is a huge challenge for the industry, partly because of its poor recycling potential. This is partly due to the design used in the beauty packaging. In most cosmetic packaging, Plastic Cosmetic Bottles are used.
Tosey told Packaging Portal: “Because beauty packaging is usually designed and dressed up as high-end or luxury products, certain decoration and printing processes may also have a significant impact on recycling barriers.
"Recycling black plastic (a color often used in cosmetics) also has special difficulties and has recently received widespread attention."
Black plastic packaging is difficult to recycle because it is colored with carbon black pigment, which means that the plastic cannot be sorted using near infrared (NIR) technology and will eventually remain.
Except for black plastic, many beauty products are so small that even if the packaging is recyclable, they are often sent to landfills. This is because the material in the recycling facility passes through a device called a trommel, which is designed to remove small amounts of contaminants from the recycling stream.
Beauty product packaging also mixes plastic with other materials. Since the materials are difficult to separate, recycling becomes an issue. Many products use unnecessary packaging for branding purposes.
Like all packaging, the problem with beauty packaging is that there are too many materials used to package products. There will always be cardboard packaging that is easy to recycle, but the lining is usually a combination of one, two or even three different types of plastic, and sometimes even aluminum foil.
What can the industry do?
What should we do about these recycling problems faced by the beauty packaging industry? Switching to aluminum instead of plastic is the industry has become more environmentally friendly.
"We have seen lipstick manufacturers want to use aluminum. We have some companies that want to ship soap and other products into aluminum containers. A variety of products can be used in aluminum. The sky is the limit."
Hindley added that aluminum has a high scrap value, so it will not end up being thrown away or misplaced as a residue. He said that because of its high value, aluminum usually passes through the sorting equipment twice in the recycling facility, which means that smaller items rarely disappear in the process.
Hindley added: "In 2018, 95% of the packaging collected for recycling in the UK was recycled within the UK or Europe. It will not be exported to countries where there is a risk of not being recycled."
Last month, scientists developed biodegradable packaging to help cosmetic companies get rid of the shackles of plastic. Yesterday, a survey revealed that 98% of British MPs from the Westminster Party believed that switching to compostable materials might be part of the solution.
Other companies believe that companies should focus on reusing plastic instead of trying to eliminate plastic or switch to other materials.
One of the problems in the cosmetics industry is the use of too many different types of plastics. Part of the problem is that if there are no regulations, nothing will change. Government regulations need to be formulated, because there are many well-meaning people there, but many people are confused.
According to experts, the only consensus is to reduce the amount of plastic. Although plastic has many advantages. We need to find a way to use this kind of plastic mountain, and if there is a way that can be used, we should inspire people to go this way. "
Of course, the use of plastic is very dependent on beauty packaging, but instead of treating plastic itself as a pariah in the packaging field, it may be more constructive to focus on the way to realize plastic, especially disposable items that can be reused Or recycle. "
