Hi everyone, this marks the first of many posts detailing the pollution impacts of the beauty industry. If you would like to check out other forms of pollution, you can also find them in the archive here.
In my previous post, I have shown how the beauty industry, worth at a whopping $500 billion or more, can have a substantial impact on our environment. One such impact, which is arguably the most long lasting, is that of plastic pollution.
About 70% of the beauty industry’s waste comes from its packaging (British Beauty Council, 2020). According to reports by Zero Waste, beauty packaging can add up to about 120 million units per year. Although this amount takes into account several forms of waste (glass, paper, metals), plastic coverings form a substantial percentage of it. This is not surprising, considering packaging is the most prominent source of plastic waste from industrial sectors (Geyer et al., 2017).
(Source: https://waste4change.com/blog/a-solutions-for-your-cosmetics-waste/)
Majority of this waste ends up in our landfills, where they are burnt and release fumes that cause more air pollution. Additionally, it does not help that the process of recycling cosmetic packaging is one that is highly complex. This is so as brands often show brand identity through their unique boxes, bags and containers, which contains a myriad mix of materials. While these components can be separated, Okafor (2021) notes how it is often perceived as an arduous task for recycling workers. In conjunction, consumers also seem rather reluctant to participate, where 56% of British people do not recycle shampoo bottles as it seems too troublesome to do so.
Plastic packages that manage to escape their fate at the landfill often get transported into waterways and oceans, where they float endlessly before getting washed up on a beach, or unfortunately, consumed by animals. About 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our ocean each year and it is not only an eyesore, but one that can have detrimental impacts on our water quality and the survival of animals. For example, Roman et al. (2021) note how marine megafauna die from consequent gastrointestinal blockages, malnutrition and perforations.
A Wider Implication
When I brought up these alarming impacts to some of my peers, they were rather skeptical to elude the issue to the beauty industry. While it is true that the direct impacts of plastic pollution can’t be solely attributed to the beauty industry per se, it is of no doubt that the industry has added substantial amounts of plastic into the oceans, which then adds to the already large issue of marine plastic pollution.
Coming Up
Plastic packaging isn't the only way the beauty industry is causing plastic pollution. In the next post, we will examine a form of plastic pollution that is less noticeable to the eye — microplastics!
Stay tuned, and stay concerned,
Hui Jie
References
British Beauty Council. (2020, October). The Courage to Change. Retrieved from https://britishbeautycouncil.com/the-courage-to-change/#:~:text=The%20Courage%20to%20Change%20is,explores%20the%20report's%20key%20findings.
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Law, K. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science advances, 3(7), e1700782.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). A Guide to Plastic in the Ocean. Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html#:~:text=While%20it's%20tough%20to%20say,come%20in%20many%20different%20forms..
Okafor, J. (2021, August 10). Environmental Impact of Cosmetics & Beauty Products. Trvst. Retrieved from https://www.trvst.world/sustainable-living/environmental-impact-of-cosmetics/#cmf_footnote_6
Roman, L., Schuyler, Q., Wilcox, C., & Hardesty, B. D. (2021). Plastic pollution is killing marine megafauna, but how do we prioritize policies to reduce mortality?. Conservation Letters, 14(2), e12781.
Zero Waste. (n.d.). The Zero Waste Home. Retrieved from https://www.zerowaste.com/zero-waste-home-guide/.
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