Don't Trust the Recycling Symbols on Cosmetic Containers

[경향신문]

Cosmetic Attack: Citizen monitors gather at Green Korea in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on April 10 and sort out used cosmetic containers that can be recycled. However, most of the containers could not be recycled because they were semitransparent or colored. There were particularly a large number of containers made of composite materials, but these significantly drop in quality when recycled. Courtesy of Green Korea

Here is an empty white lotion bottle, washed clean. Near the bottom of the bottle, there is a recycling symbol along with the letters PET indicating the material used to make the bottle. The bottle pump is made of “OTHER” materials meaning composite materials, and the lid is made of PP (polypropylene). The materials in the bottle are specified and the recycling symbol is clearly printed on the bottle. Then can the bottle be recycled? That is nearly impossible.

When it comes to PET plastic, only transparent PET can be recycled. Although the lotion bottle was made of PET, since it was painted “white” on the outside, the bottle cannot be recycled. It’s just garbage. The quality of OTHER plastic products, made up of two or more materials, drops significantly when recycled, so they are hardly ever recycled. When the recycling firm takes away the materials they cannot use, the only thing left that they can recycle is the small lid, which is only about an inch long.

Most cosmetic bottles are like this. They look like they can be recycled, but most can’t. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Environment recently announced administrative measures to exempt cosmetic companies from labeling the recycling grade of their containers. Manufacturers have to print the recycling grade--excellent, good, average, difficult--on the containers, and also label containers hard to recycle as “difficult to recycle,” but the government is planning to exempt cosmetic companies from such regulations.

On April 10, 550 empty makeup containers of a wide variety, including shampoo and lotion bottles, were stacked in the office and small yard of Green Korea, located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. It was part of an effort by Green Korea--which has been trying to inform the public about how hard it is to recycle cosmetic containers--along with the citizens to personally see whether or not makeup containers can be recycled.

They determined whether or not a container was recyclable based on the material used for the main body of the container. If they were made of PET, which is a single material, PP, HDPE (high-density polyethylene), LDPE (low-density polyethylene), and PS (polystyrene), they could be recycled. However, even if it is transparent PET, if anything is printed directly on the surface of the container, it cannot be recycled. As for glass containers, only transparent, green and brown containers can be recycled.

Because of the hard names and various conditions, the people began sorting the containers with a guideline spread out next to them. But soon, they realized that the guidelines were not necessary. Ten minutes after they began sorting the containers, they had finished inspecting fifteen empty shampoo bottles, but not one could be recycled--all for the same reason: opaque or semitransparent PET. By the time they had sorted thirty containers, they began writing down “impossible to recycle” on the list before they checked the containers. Regardless of whether they were made of PET or glass, the containers were colored in a number of colors, and when they came across an occasional transparent container, the brand name and instructions were printed on the surface.

Thirty minutes after they began sorting the containers, they discovered a transparent container heavy as glass. Even the instructions were printed on a sticker that they could remove, so joyfully, they wrote “possible to recycle.” But upon closer inspection, they found out that the container was made of “OTHER” materials, made to resemble glass. Here and there, voices could be heard saying, “Oh, I found one (that could be recycled)! Maybe not,” and “This is like a treasure hunt.”

The fact that it was hard just to determine whether or not a container could be recycled was also a problem. According to the current regulations, individuals have to know “what kind of material, in what condition” can be recycled, regardless of the recycling symbol, to properly sort the items and place them in the proper bin.

When environmental groups continued to protest, the environment ministry took a step back and said it would exempt only companies that had its own container-recollection system from labeling the recycling grade. But even if cosmetic companies retrieve their containers, this doesn’t change the fact that it is impossible to recycle them. Heo Seung-eun, an activist at Green Korea said, “Regardless of whether or not the companies retrieve their containers, allowing exemptions from labeling the recycling grade is inappropriate.”