Fionnuala Jones Chats Making Sustainablility Simple With Boots’ Recycle Scheme

Picture Andres Poveda

Sustainability is something on everyone’s mind lately as we try to build it into our day-to-day life and this just became a little easier thanks to the new ‘Recycle at Boots’ scheme.

We can now bring our empties that we otherwise wouldn’t know what to do with to our nearest Boots store and dispose of them the right way, while getting some advantage card points in return!

Fionnuala Jones, who is no stranger to a sustainable lifestyle, chats to us about the initiative.

“I was obsessed [when I first heard about it]. I’ve been waiting for an initiative like this to be honest because I’m obsessed with beauty and it’s an area that I could have been more sustainable in, in terms of my choices and recycling. This is such a win for everyone who is obsessed with beauty like me but is struggling to recycle some of the more hard-to-recycle pieces like the compacts and the palettes and the mascaras. And then also you get points which is a major win, who doesn’t want free points, like free money essentially?” she says.

 

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The key thing about encouraging people to take on a more sustainable habit is it needs to be hassle-free, Fionnuala says this is something she loves about the ease of recycling at Boots.

“I think all in all it’ll take you like 15 minutes, by the time you scan your items, they’re approved, you bring your items to the store, obviously depending on what store you’re going to, but in terms of actually waiting for the stuff to be approved, it’s very short. This was a major thing for me wanting to sign up because trying to get people to be more sustainable you want it to be as easy and straightforward as possible, otherwise, people will be put off by it.

“Once you scan your stuff and it’s approved you go to your store, you scan your QR code, you deposit your stuff and then you get your points on your rewards card straight away. You can spend them then and there in the store or you can spend them online. You have three days to spend them.”

For every five products deposited, customers will receive a voucher for 500 Boots Advantage Card points (worth €5 when you spend €10 or more) to use in-store or online within 3 days, what a perk! How exciting to have an extra few bob for a treat, or some essentials.

Picture Andres Poveda

Need some inspo for what to spend them on? Fionnuala shares her recommendations, “All of Maybelline’s lip products are like belters and I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on them recently. Specifically, the Maybelline Lifter Gloss (€11.99) the one I’m wearing at the minute is in the shade Topaz… it just has that nice subtle sparkle. But also get your vitamins, get your shampoo it’s fine.”

So, what can you bring in?

Fionnuala explains, “Compacts are the main thing and the most obvious one because usually, they have other elements like mirrors and hinges, etc, they’re not going to be easily recycled in your bin at home. Mascara the tubes and the wands can also go in. At the minute they’re not accepting perfume bottles or nail varnish bottles but again once you scan it they’ll be able to tell you why it’s accepted or why it’s not.”

Picture Andres Poveda

Unreal, so, if a more sustainable 2023 was on your list of goals here’s one way to start, as for what else we can be doing, Fionnuala says, “I think it is just buying less, and you can apply that to every area of your life. It’s just about taking that breath and being like do I need this? Do I have something at home that serves this purpose? Am I just being drawn in because someone has said they like it online?

“If you’re feeling overwhelmed with everything, I would recommend a good clearout because I think once you know what you have it makes for a great starting point, you might realise you don’t need something new.”

Brb off to spring clean our lives.

• Fionnuala Jones
• sustainability