Following a successful launch in the US, TerraCycle is bringing its recycling solution for hair and beauty salons the UK. The solution consists in splitting waste into just two categories: human hair in one box and metal and plastic items in another.
With over 61,000 hair and beauty businesses in the UK, these industries generate a significant amount of waste each year. According to figures by the British Beauty Council, 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away making packaging one of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the beauty industry. As it stands, only 14% of hair and beauty industry packaging makes it to the recycling plant and only 9% is recycled, whilst the rest ends up in landfill or incineration.
Simple and hassle-free solution
SalonCycle’s two boxes will accept and recycle materials which are generated in large volumes by salons. The Human Hair – SalonCycle Composting Box will enable hairdressers and hair salons to collect human hair clippings and trimmings. In the Mixed Salon Waste – SalonCycle Recycling Box, hairdressers and hair salons will be able to collect used hair foils, metal colour tubes, flexible and rigid plastic containers, disposable gloves and masks, empty coffee cups and food wrappers.
Beyond the simplicity of sorting, the whole recycling four-step solution has been designed to be hassle-free. In a first step, hairdressers, hair and beauty salons order SalonCycle boxes which are shipped directly to their salon. In a second step, the boxes are placed in designated high-traffic areas throughout the salon to collect the various categories of salon products and packaging. Once full, the salon sends the box(es) back to TerraCycle using the pre-affixed UPS shipping label. When TerraCycle receives the box, the waste is sorted, cleaned and processed into raw materials. Human hair is industrially composted, while items like plastics, metals and rubber are processed and remoulded to make new recycled products like metal sheeting, flooring tiles, shipping pallets, and outdoor furniture.
“We are delighted to be launching SalonCycle here in the UK as the amount of waste produced by the haircare and beauty industries is substantial. When developing SalonCycle we listened to salons and their biggest request was for a simple and easy to use solution that isn’t confusing for staff. Having to separate waste into lots of different sub categories can be confusing and ultimately can act as a barrier to adoption in the salon. As a result, SalonCycle only offers two boxes, one for human hair and the other for everything else that is either plastic or metal. The solution couldn’t be easier to implement in a salon or for staff to effectively recycle all the hard-to-recycle waste they are generating as part of their day-to-day work,” explains Julien Tremblin, General Manager, TerraCycle Europe.
