The secret way you can rack up your Boots advantage points before Christmas – its an easy way to keep your home tidy too
ENVIRONMENTALLY conscious shoppers who are keen to save some cash have been blown away by a little-known Boots hack.
The UK’s leading health and beauty retailer launched its recycling scheme back in September 2020, but shoppers are still only just finding out about it.
Customers can bring empty lipsticks, hand creams, body lotions, travel minis, refill pouches & dental items back to the store to earn points on their advantage card.
TikTokker @organise.my.life24 posted a slideshow, documenting their experience using the scheme.
The recycler made their way to their closest participating Boots branch and found the drop-off box.
They then dropped their empties in – this time getting rid of some empty contact lens cases, a Mielle hair mask tub, a mini Philip Kingsley tube, a Superdrug Cotton Wool packet and an Always Sanitary Towels packet.
After they’d disposed of their recyclables, they showed viewers the online confirmation, which read: “Thank you for recycling. We are just verifying your deposit.”
They then explained that you are given a voucher (which must be redeemed within three days) that you validate at the checkout with a £10 spend to receive the 500 Advantage Card points.
Viewers were quick to flood the comment section: “Wait, do you get points for recycling?”
To which the poster replied: “You do! £5 worth if you recycle 5 (items)”
Another commenter added: “Can you do more than 5 at a time?”
The poster replied with a handy tip: “You can, but you still get 500 points, so you’re best doing 5 at a time”
Another viewer commented: “So does it get approved and you get the voucher immediately whilst you’re in-store?
They were told: “Yes! Once you scan the barcode on the bin and put your empties in, you get the voucher, which you have three days to use.”
What is the Recycle at Boots scheme?
Boots’ website says: “Together with No7, we’re doing our bit to help keep our planet beautiful.
“That’s why we created our Recycle at Boots scheme where you can bring your empty beauty, health, wellness and dental products, from any brand, that can’t be recycled at home.”
Why is Boots doing a recycling scheme?
The leading retailer said: “We know lots of beauty, health, wellness and dental items can’t be recycled traditionally due to their size, what materials they’re made from and various other factors.
“We want to play our part in looking after the planet by making it easier to recycle items that might be difficult to recycle elsewhere.
“And we want to reward you for playing your part and making recycling part of your regime too.”
So, where exactly do the empties go?
Once you drop your empties off via the bins in-store, they are taken to MyGroup to be washed and sorted, leaving them sparkling ready for recycling into new usable products in as many cases as possible.
Any multi-material items that don’t make the cut get recycled into Stormboard.
Stormboard is a composite construction board material which has loads of different uses.
Meanwhile, organics get processed through an industrial organics processor.
So you can rest assured that nothing goes to landfill and nothing is incinerated.
And interestingly, thanks to the handy scan system, you’ll be able to log into your account to see how much you’ve deposited.
So there you have it – an easy way to tidy up the empties laying around your house, do better for the planet and boost your advantage points in the process!
You can find out where you can recycle your empties, here.
Which types of plastic can you recycle at home?
These plastics are fine to recycle at home:
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET): Water bottles and plastic trays.
- High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): Milk cartons and shampoo bottles.
- Polypropylene (PP): Margarine tubs and ready-meal trays