Mascara or eyeliner

Also called: mascara, mascara wand, mascara tube, eyeliner, eye liner, eyeliner pencil

General waste

National rules. Choose your council to see its answer.

Your council's answer

The answer can differ by council. Choose your council to see its rules for this item.

How to prepare it

  1. Not recyclable at home: the wand, tube and product are mixed together and the product is hard to clean out
  2. Put it in general waste
  3. Mascara goes off after about three months, so bin old ones rather than keep using them

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National rules

The answer isn't the same in every UK nation. Choose your council to see the one that applies to you.

England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

General waste

This can't be recycled here. Put it in your general waste bin.

This item can't be recycled at home, so put it in your general waste bin.

Wales

General waste

This can't be recycled here. Put it in your general waste bin.

This item can't be recycled at home, so put it in your general waste; check if your council also collects nappies and incontinence pads separately.

Wales-wide guidance, checked 27 Sep 2026. View the source

How to recycle it

National schemes anyone in the UK can use.

National scheme
Not confirmed yet

We haven't confirmed this scheme's details yet.

M&S beauty empties take-back (with Handle)

Free · Return in store

Some M&S stores have a box in the beauty section for empty plastic or aluminium beauty packaging of any brand, which Handle turns into new products. M&S listed 100 stores in November 2024, so not every store has one.

  1. Use up the product and empty the container as far as you can
  2. Look for the beauty take-back box in the beauty section of an M&S store; not every store has one, so check first
  3. Drop in bottles, tubes, caps, pumps and tubs made of plastic or aluminium, from any brand

Find your nearest drop-off point Find your nearest M&S

Source: corporate.marksandspencer.com, checked 17 Oct 2026.

National scheme

Recycle at Boots

Free (Advantage Card points if you also spend the minimum in store) · Return in store

Boots takes empty medicine and vitamin blister packs, toothpaste tubes and other hard-to-recycle beauty empties of any brand at participating stores through the Recycle at Boots app.

  1. Download the Recycle at Boots app and register
  2. Photograph your empties in the app and wait for them to be approved (approval takes up to 24 hours on weekdays)
  3. Take at least 5 approved items to a participating Boots store and deposit them in one go
  4. You get an Advantage Card points voucher, which you collect by spending the minimum in store

Find your nearest Boots

Source: recycleatboots.com, checked 17 Oct 2026.

In our guides

Recycle This isn't run by or endorsed by any council or the government. Councils change their services, so check anything important with your council.