Can Mascara Tubes Be Recycled?

Mascara tubes are often made of several different materials, which presents a major challenge in recycling.

Tube Material

Many high-end mascara tubes are made of bare aluminum, a valuable resource that can be recycled endlessly.

More common are plastic mascara tubes, such as PP (polypropylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

Brush: Typically made of a plastic like nylon and separate from the tube.

Plug (squeegee): Typically a small piece of plastic or rubber, it controls the amount of mascara applied, ensures a very tight seal, and effectively prevents the material inside from evaporating and drying out.

Surface Treatment: For aesthetic reasons and branding, the tube may be treated with oxidation, spraying, electroplating, or laser engraving. These coatings may affect the recycling process, but this is less of a problem for aluminum mascara tubes.

How to Properly Recycle Your Mascara Tube?

Due to their small size, mixed materials, and residual mascara inside, mascara tubes are difficult to process through traditional curbside recycling systems. However, you can take the following steps:

• Thorough cleaning is key: This is the most important step in recycling mascara tubes. Carefully clean the inside of the tube and the brush with warm water and a small amount of detergent to remove any residual mascara. Residue not only contaminates recyclable materials but can also clog recycling equipment.
  
  
• Sorting and Disassembly:
• Aluminum mascara tubes: If your tubes are empty aluminum, the aluminum tube can be recycled as metal after cleaning.
  
  
• Plastic mascara tubes: After cleaning, if your local recycling center accepts small pieces of rigid plastic, you can sort them as required.
  
  
• Brush: As an essential component of the mascara tube, the brush typically needs to be discarded or sent to a designated beauty recycling program.
  
  

Environmental Efforts by Mascara Tube Manufacturers

As a professional packaging supplier, we understand the importance of sustainability. Our mascara tubes, whether high-quality empty aluminum mascara tubes in various shapes like square, round, and triangular, or plastic mascara tubes, are designed with recyclability in mind.

We encourage customers to choose more recyclable materials and can customize brush styles to meet environmentally friendly requirements, such as lengthening, curling, and volume. In the future, we will continue to explore and use more environmentally friendly materials and optimize surface treatment processes to make your brand packaging even more sustainable.

If you have any ideas for custom eco-friendly mascara tube packaging, please contact us and we will be happy to create unique brand packaging for you.