A study undertaken in the Midlands by green campaign group Beauty Recycled found that the majority of salon and spa owners (70%) were not recycling their waste and throwing away materials like glass, plastics, card and paper.

The research revealed that up to as much as 43m litres of recyclables could be diverted from landfill if these businesses implemented better waste management practices.

However, very few of them were interested in doing this, even if they had access to a trade waste recycling service.

Of those salons that were recycling, most were disposing of their waste illegally at household recycling banks, according to the study.

Many of the salon owners felt that over-packaging was a problem, and felt there was little support from the big brands that supplied to them.

However, this has been disputed by skincare brand Dermalogica. Spokesperson Amy Barker said: “We ensure our packaging, cartons, containers and shipping materials are all either recyclable, photo-degradable or biodegradable.

She added that the company recycles as much as it can at its own factories and offices, but could not control how much its stockists recycle.

Maxine Perella

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