Under the Earth Hour I Will If You Will (IWIYW) initiative, The Body Shop Singapore will be giving away a shower gel for every 3 recyclable containers you present at any TBS store. In doing this, the brand hopes to educate the public on how to recycle, as well as redress the misconception that any plastics can be recycled.
Below are 3 tips from the brand, on recycling plastics:
1. Prepare Bottles
Rinse containers and remove the labels before placing them in your recycling receptacle. Stomp on containers to flatten them before adding them to the bin.
2. Check the Number
The bottom of each plastic container should have a number inside chasing arrows. This number indicates the type of plastic used in the production process. Most water bottles are made from No. 1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is what we accept here at The Body Shop.
3. Source Reduction
The Body Shop encourages consumers to reduce consumption of goods that require waste disposal. This saves natural resources, reduces toxic waste from production and disposal, and saves money for communities, businesses and consumers.
Remember: Reducing the amount of plastic you use is the first step in responsible waste management!
As the brand hopes to encourage Singaporeans to recycle in general, it will accept any empty plastic container that is clean and bear the No. 1 PET/PETE recycling symbol; the receptacle need not be from The Body Shop or even related to toiletries.
There will be a choice of two body washes (60 ml) for redemption: Love Etc… or Cocoa Butter. This program will start on 31 March 2012 and will last till 22 April 2012 (Earth Day). There is no redemption limit but the stores will only offer the body washes while stocks last.
Image sources: Earth Hour and The Body Shop Singapore
wow, that’s nice. It’s high time TBS went back to their old ways of having the recycle basket in their stores.
That said, it’s actually quite hard to find PETE 1 plastics nowadays. haha. But it’s a marketing strategy, because I know TBS bottles are all PETE 1.
Hi Jyoan,
I remember those days when TBS had recycling corners! :)
Actually, #1 PET/PETE containers are pretty easy to find. Soft drink and soy sauce bottles are made of them (well, premium soy sauce, anyway, haha!). The Ribena bottle that is in the photo in this post is also made of #1 PET plastic. :) Yep, many TBS containers are made of 01 PET plastic but some are also made of softer plastics like 02 HDPE (two of the containers in the Shiso range that I own are made of this).
tbs only accept tepe 1?
Hi Pepper,
Yes, only containers made of No. 1 PET/PETE plastic.
Cool, thanks for this! 31 March is quite far away.. guess i have time to save bottles till then :P Think I can flatten the bottles to save space before passing them over to TBS staff?
Hi Rachel,
I’m not sure. Going by the tips given by the brand, I guess you can; as long as the chasing arrows logo with the ‘1’ inside is visible.
Thoughtful idea of TBS! :D
Hi Angie,
It’s a nice way to get more plastics properly recycled. I do wonder about the other plastics and how they might be recycled, though.
Great initiative! I’d been throwing empties into the “Plastic” recycle bins at City Sq Mall…hoping that it’ll get recycled properly.
*thumbs up*
Hi Eileen,
Me too! I just cleared one batch of plastics (with #1 PET too, haha!). :D
Ooh great post! By the way, the Body Shop still has recycling bins! Even if your regular branch doesn’t, you can pass your old Body Shop containers to the sales assistants and they’ll collect it for recycling. :) I know cos I’ve been doing it all this while.
Hey Fiona,
That’s great! Thanks for letting us know. :)
And you know, I did this for quite a while in the past but stopped when I didn’t see any of the recycling bins after some time.
wow this quite meaningful
Hi SF,
It certainly made me examine my plastics more carefully.
I’ve been recycling my TBS bottles too by returning them to the store. The staff gladly take in the empties. Happy to read about this little incentive to encourage recycling!
Hi Jennifer,
I’m glad to hear that this practice has continued through the years. :)
I’ll definitely be looking out for those bottles from today onwards! thanks for the heads up :)
You’re welcome, Jan. Because of this post, I’ve learnt that TBS still practises its recylcing program! :D
I found out that most of the transparent plastic bottles like those for mineral water or handsoap are made out of PET 1. Not so for the opaque ones. So it’s really easy to collect them cos they are very commonly used :)
Hi Jan,
That’s not entirely true – some opaque/translucent bottles are #1 PET. However, I was recently surprised to find a bottle of liang teh in a 1 PET bottle! :)
hi! do we have to flatten the botles before giving it to TBS? :)
Hi Irissa,
I don’t know. I could ask TBS!
Hello everyone,
There’s no need to flatten the containers but you have to make sure that they are dry and clean, plus they must have their labels removed.