The Great British Beauty Clean Up 2026 – who's in?
Welcome to the Great British Beauty Clean Up 2026. Underlying message? Reduce, reuse, recycle.
We honestly like nothing more than getting to the end of a product. Well, there’s one thing we like more: finding a way to recycle or refill it. (Or perhaps, in the case of – say – candle vessels, using as a pencil holder or a pretty posy vase. And if you think you’ve already got too many of those, give it to a friend with a little bunch of flowers in there.)
The Great British Beauty Clean Up, now in its second year, is designed to help you reduce beauty waste, use what you have more consciously, and divert ‘hard‑to‑recycle’ items into proper take‑back schemes rather than landfill. So, what can you do?
Audit your stash and use things up
• Gather all skincare, haircare, bodycare, sun care and colour cosmetics from bathrooms, handbags and drawers.
• Prioritise finishing open products before buying more, and set aside anything you’ll realistically never use for donation if suitable. (Rather like you do – or at least, we do – when we have a twice-yearly wardrobe overhaul.)
Sort empties: kerbside -v- ‘hard to recycle’
Check local council guidance and on‑pack symbols to see what can go in household recycling (e.g. clean PET bottles, HDPE bottles, some polypropylene lids).
• Identify the typical ‘no’ items for kerbside: minis and samples, mascaras, composite compacts and palettes, lipsticks, pumps, toothbrush heads, toothpaste tubes and blister packs.
Clean, separate and prep packaging
• Rinse out bottles and jars, remove residual product where possible and separate components (lids, pumps, droppers) so recyclable parts can be processed.
• Set up a clearly labelled bathroom or bedroom ‘beauty recycling’ container so everything ends up in one place before sorting.
Use take‑back and recycling schemes
Use the British Beauty Council’s interactive map – here – to find local in‑store or salon take‑back points participating in the Clean Up and other schemes.
• Look for MyGroup x British Beauty Council boxes in participating retailers, salons and spas, which accept a wide range of ‘hard‑to‑recycle’ cosmetics and personal care items, including hazardous products and blister packs.
Refill, reuse and buy better
Where available, switch to refills (such as pods, pouches, cartridge systems, in‑store refill stations) instead of repurchasing full packs. We’re impressed by how many brands are starting to offer refills.
• Choose formats with simpler, mono‑material packaging, avoid unnecessary outer cartons and accessories, and start favouring brands which clearly communicating recyclability and take‑back options. (Too many don’t!)
Donate suitable surplus products
• Unopened, in‑date products that you’re not going to use can be donated to hygiene poverty charities and redistribution organisations championed by campaign partners (for example The Hygiene Bank, Beauty Banks and In Kind Direct), helping prevent usable stock going to waste. Click those names to find out more about donating.
• Follow each charity’s guidelines on what they can accept, including restrictions on used or opened items.
Track your impact and share the message
• During the Clean Up month, keep a simple tally of empties diverted from general waste and refills you’ve used to see your progress.
• Do share what you’re doing on social channels using campaign imagery and hashtags supplied by participating brands and the British Beauty Council, encouraging friends and clients to join in. Examples:
Engage with brands and retailers
• Ask your fave brands to clarify how to dispose of specific packs, and to sign up to or expand take‑back, refill and reuse schemes highlighted by the campaign. (DMs can be quite effective, via Insta.)
• Support businesses who’ve pledged support for the Clean Up, the Sustainable Beauty Coalition and its plastic and climate pledges – and you’ll be helping to reinforce demand for better packaging and transparent sustainability claims. And there’s a long list, including Boots, John Lewis, Tesco, Cult Beauty, LOOKFANTASTIC, ELEMIS, L’Occitane, Superdrug, The Perfume Shop, Pai, Rituals, Medik8, NEOM Wellbeing, Scrummi and Philip Kingsley.
Bottom line: we love the way The Sustainable Beauty Coalition is bringing together brands, retailers and salons to develop science-based sustainability targets, with a focus on plastic reduction and climate action.
That man in charge of America (who clearly thinks he’s in charge of the world) may believe climate change to be a ‘hoax’, but we disagree – and quite simply, hate waste of any kind.
Who’s with us?
For the interactive map to locate your nearest recycling points, click here.
