Recycle at Boots scheme sees more than one million products returned

Since Boots launched its recycling scheme in September 2020 over one million beauty, health and wellness products have been returned to be recycled, with toothpaste, mascara and face serum making up the most frequently returned products.

The second week of January was the schemes' most successful to date, with 22,000 items returned. To mark this milestone Boots announced that the incentive for participating in the scheme, usually 250 Boots Advantage Card points for every five items returned, had been increased to 500 points (worth £5) until the end of March.

Boots said Recycle at Boots was "the most accessible of its kind" and available at over 700 stores across the UK.

The chemist chain has also seen a significant rise in searches for products with sustainable credentials. It noted an 18% uplift year-on-year on searches for refillable products, while the term ‘reusable’ has also seen a 58% increase compared to data from 2021.

Natalie Gourlay, interim Head of CSR said: “When we launched the “Recycle at Boots” scheme in 2020, there was nothing else like it on the high street and we wanted to incentivise customers and make it easier for them to recycle products that can’t traditionally be recycled at home. We are proud to have hit such a significant milestone.

“We are continually looking at how we manage our own ‘Bootprint’ as part of the way we operate our business, whilst actively seeking ways to make it easier for customers to be agents of change. We are delighted to see so many customers kicking off the new year with new sustainable habits and we are committed to helping them to continue to make ethical choices throughout 2022.”