US Waste Initiatives (& how it affects the beauty industry)
overflowed recycling centers with a lot of unrecyclable items, May 2023
As we see a major shift in the beauty industry in terms of sustainability and conscious effort to reduce pollution (a major factor to climate change), we see companies making pledges and changes to how they produce, distribute, and offset their emissions.
While we applaud them for their efforts, the beauty industry is an enormous industry when you include cosmetics, salons, manufacturing, marketing, and so forth. Because of this, many companies switching their efforts for a more sustainable business unfortunately doesn’t mean it’ll make a huge impact in the grand view of the industry itself. Currently, the global cosmetic industry produces 120 billion units of packaging a year and is the 4th largest contributor to plastic waste.
Privatized companies that are trying to take on the roll of changing logistics in the industry (such as Green Circle Salons who focuses on salon recycling and Plaine Products who focuses on a milk-man refill model) are showing the public that it can be done, but it’s extremely difficult and financially taxing to change a system that’s been in place for decades without external support.
However, it seems the tides are turning with talk about how we can boost our national economy and lower our nation’s emissions with a few policies, research and development, and giving financial incentives for communities. We’ll be talking about the U.S. Plastics Pact’s Reuse Catalyst, EPA’s Recycling $100mil Grant Opportunities and how these will change the US but also how huge of an impact it will have on the beauty industry.
U.S. Plastics Pact’s Reuse Catalyst
This has been an ongoing project since 2022, the US is teaming up with other companies in all different kinds of industries on how to incorporate and expand reusable and refillable packaging in the United States. Some of the partners they’re studying include Izzy Zero Waste Beauty (beauty brand), Walking Lightly Refillery (a Michigan refillery), and RePack (alternatives to single use packaging). Since this is such a new system we’re exploring on a commercial scale, there is a lot of research on how it can be done and what these partners are doing currently.
There is a US goal to make all packaging 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025 - most efforts are currently being directed towards recycling (state and federal level) or compostable options (like Michigan State University), but there is a huge gap in the market for reuse/refill. The good news about that gap? The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that if 20% of global plastic packaging were converted to reusable packaging, it could add $10 billion to the economy.
Realistically, there will probably be a lot of stumbles and setbacks along the way, but this is the best first step to help future companies have another option for packaging and have less stress on individuals.
EPA’s Recycling $100mil Grant Opportunities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to boost recycling and waste management for about $100mil in grants, its first major federal push since the 1990s. The first $70mil has already been given to 25 communities to grow and establish their recycling efforts, but there is still $32mil available to communities to establish their own waste management plan - anything from updating their recycling or composting facilities, growing data collection, and helping disadvantaged communities.
This is a huge step in the right direction. While recycling doesn’t solve every problem, the ability to combat pollution has a ton of opportunities this way, especially since we are only in the R&D stage of reuse/refill systems. The most exciting part is how it will help local economies. Expanding cleaner waste disposal methods adds jobs, less landfills (which also means less health problems, particularly for vulnerable populations), and more opportunities to make financial gain in the materials market in local communities.
Why do these initiatives help the beauty industry?
Without federal assistance, it’s almost impossible to be environmentally conscious of packaging waste without spending a small fortune, for the individual and companies.
It helps raise the standard of business, clean the earth, and helps create a more circular economy in the beauty industry.
What can you do as an individual?
Speak out. Seriously.
This can be anything. Buy more from brands who are offering refills or recycling programs, email your representative about wanting better recycling efforts, supporting local refilleries, or even reading your local recycling facility’s guidelines to make sure you are recycling properly.
While it is up to federal and state government to help push these efforts, our voice is our power - they won’t know what we want unless we tell them.