UK skincare brand Bulldog has rolled out a new packaging take-back and recycling scheme in collaboration with recycling collector First Mile. Materials collected under this scheme will then be recycled into new products, or used to make green energy.
In a statement, the group said it has launched the initiative “to help consumers navigate the complex recycling environment and give them confidence that their used items will never end up in landfill, the ocean or being shipped abroad”.
Under the new scheme, customers will post used product bottles and razors to First Mile, which offers free postage services. Once collected, the waste will then be sorted into recyclables or non-recyclables, with the latter sent for incineration to generate energy-from-waste (EfW). Razors will be sent to the EfW facilities while plastic tubes and tubs will be recycled via microwave pyrolysis – a process that heats plastics to turn them back into oils. The skincare group claims this process is more energy-efficient than typical recycling methods, with capacity for 100% renewable energy to be used.
Oil made from this recycling process will then be converted into pellets to create new products.
Caroline Mallet, general manager at Bulldog Skincare, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for our consumers to recycle their Bulldog products in the most effective way. That’s why we have partnered with First Mile. If consumers are ever confused or unsure of what to do with their Bulldog tubes or blades, they can simply send them back to us and we’ll do the rest.”
The skincare group already uses 100% recycled plastic for most of its product bottles and jars. For products in tubes, it uses materials made from 50% petroleum-based plastic and 50% sugarcane-derived plastic. The brand also introduced its reusable bamboo razor in 2018, and a glass razor made from 70% recycled beer bottles in 2020.
