Return to Origins Recycling Program

Whatever you do, don't throw away your empty cosmetic bottles. Instead, take them to the nearest Origins retail store or department store counter. There, they will take those bottles to the proper recycling facility. It doesn't matter if it's an Origins bottle or another brand - they'll still recycle it! Pretty cool, eh? It's called The Return to Origins Recycling Program, and it's something I think everyone should be encouraged to participate in.

With my job, I tend to get triple the average gal's supply of makeup and beauty products. While that's an awesome perk to my job, it leaves me with a ton of empty bottles, tubes and compacts.

Empty cosmetic bottles and packaging can end up piling in landfills because the average recycling program might not recognize the hard plastic materials as recyclable. So it ends up in the dumps only to get piled up higher and higher, and adding more unnecessary waste to our planet. After you take your empty packaging to an Origins store, it then gets shipped to a central location where it's sorted for recycling or it - through some amazing science that I cannot explain - can get converted into steam or electricity.

Examples of acceptable packaging you can give to Origins:

• glass jars
• plastic jars
• bottles
• tubes
• caps
• lipstick covers

Origins stores and department counters in South Florida:

• Inside Dillard's inside the Galleria Mall
• Inside the Macy's inside Coral Square
• Standalone store inside Town Center at Boca Raton
• Inside the Macy's inside Town Center at Boca Raton