Fight the Cycle of Waste with TerraCycle's Beauty Brigade

Makeup aficionados, unite! Here's how you can help recycle your beauty tools into brand new products.

-Diana Denza, BettyConfidential.com

If you're anything like us, your Saturday afternoons start with a stroll down the local drugstore's beauty aisle and end with a tube of mascara or shiny new lip gloss. But do you ever wonder where those containers end up once you've slathered on that last bit of concealer?

The answer, ladies, is rather bleak. Those castaways are taking up precious space in our already crowded landfills. But there's something you can do to help keep both your skin and the earth beautiful-and it's super easy to boot!

TerraCycle, an anti-waste company founded in 2001 by a Princeton freshman, has just formed the brand new Beauty Brigade. According to Stacey Cusack, the brand's public relations manager, the team's mission is "to eliminate the idea of waste all together. The goal of the Personal Care and Beauty Brigade is to keep all kinds of hair care, skin care and cosmetic packaging out of landfills and give them new life at TerraCycle."

"Until now, most of these items were destined to end up in a landfill, where they would sit for years and years and years," Cusack continued. "Garnier decided to do something about it by partnering with TerraCycle."

The rules are easy-breezy for women on the go: simply stow your empty bottles in a cardboard box or shipping envelope. When it's all full, head over to Terracycle's website to print or request a mailing label-it's prepaid, so doing good won't cost you big.

Then just slap the label on the box, drop off your stash at any UPS location, and voila! You've just earned a whole lot of TerraCycle points, which can be used to provide vital aid to the nonprofit or school of your choice. Every accepted item will add two points to your account (worth $.02).

"By offering two points toward a charity gift for each piece of packaging collected, TerraCycle and Garnier are empowering consumers to make a difference in their community and in the world," Cusack told us. "TerraCycle has already kept over two billion pieces of trash from going to the landfill, and with its partners, dispersed over $3 million to charity."

But that's not all! Cusack explained that donated cotainers "can be made into almost any type of plastic product, including combs, benches, recycling bins, and plastic lumber." So, the next time you pick up a new hairbrush or page through a magazine in the park, know that your efforts are helping the world go 'round AND stay clean.

So ladies, if you're wondering whether to pamper yourself with a sparkling new bronzer or ashy eyeliner, go ahead and splurge without suffering from a guilty conscience in the morning.

For more information, visit the TerraCycle Beauty Brigade's detailed FAQ section .



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