Marks and Spencer (M&S) has launched a recycling scheme for beauty product packaging.

The retailer said that the new initiative will enable hard to recycle beauty packaging materials and components that typically end up in landfill to be recycled and turned into new packaging and products.

Set up in partnership with Beauty recycling firm HANDLE, the Beauty Takeback Scheme will be available in 40 stores across the UK.

M&S predicts the scheme will collect around two tonnes of empty packaging over the next year.

The company said packaging is one of the biggest problems facing the beauty industry, citing research which found that 120 billion units of packaging are produced globally every year. According to figures from .gov.uk referenced by M&S, less than half of this can be recycled in the UK as certain types of beauty packaging cannot be processed in mainstream recycling centres.

For the next month, customers who recycle their packaging through the scheme will receive 10 per cent off beauty products at M&S.

The scheme builds on previous sustainability projects at M&S, like the company’s plastic takeback scheme for food packaging, allowing customers to recycle more of its packaging, including soft plastics that aren’t typically collected for recycling by local authorities in the UK.

“We’re passionate about creating simple solutions that help our customers live lower carbon lives,” said Carmel McQuaid, head of ESG at M&S. “Plastic is one of the biggest challenges facing the beauty industry and whilst there is still lots more to do, we hope this scheme encourages customers to recycle their beauty empties to give them a second life and reduce the amount of packaging that goes to landfill.”

Last month M&S announced that sales had jumped almost 10 per cent following the roll out of its turnaround strategy. The retailer saw strong growth across its core categories, with clothing and home sales increasing by 11.5 per cent to £3.7 billion and food sales up by 8.7 per cent to £7.2 billion.

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