What’s better than recycling? How about getting rewarded for recycling with free lipstick?

An advertisement from MAC Cosmetics' Hello Kitty limited edition collection in 2009. (Courtesy of MACCosmetics.com)

Such is the philosophy behind MAC Cosmetics’ successful Back to MAC program to reappropriate its iconic sleek black packaging. Consumers who return six empty cosmetics containers to MAC counters, stores, or online can receive a free MAC lipstick of their choice. (The only exception is lip color from the Viva Glam line, since the proceeds from those lipsticks and glosses are donated directly to AIDS research.)

That means any lipgloss wands, eyeshadow cases, blush pans, foundation bottles, or powder compact earns you something you can continue to use — and then recycle again at the end of its life. The containers need not be completely empty, but you may as well use them up before trading them in. MAC then recycles these plastic containers to make new packaging for its products.

Cosmetics packaging traditionally isn’t easily recyclable. It is commonly made from plastic resins like polypropylene that pose challenges in melting down and reusing without destroying the integrity of the plastic. But with MAC’s program, the glass and plastic can be reprocessed into new products, and any waste is incinerated to generate the energy required for the processing.

Not all of MAC’s packaging qualifies for the program. Cardboard boxes, cellophane wrappers, and sample or trial-size products are excluded from Back to MAC, but many of these items can go into your household recycling (specifically the plastics and cardboards). And tools and accessories can always be cleaned and donated or resold if they are unwanted.

Previously, MAC would accept the plastic pots from “depotted” eyeshadows and blushes, but a policy change in 2008 means consumers must now also return the metal pan that encases the powder. No cheating!

Origins — which, like MAC, is owned by Estée Lauder — also runs a successful cosmetics-recycling program. Bring in your empty Origins packaging to any department store counter or freestanding store for recycling, although unlike MAC, you don’t receive a bounty for your good deed.

Aveda also has taken steps to gather up hard-to-recycle plastic bottle caps through its Recycle Caps program. Not limited to just Aveda cosmetics, the program takes responsibility for keeping nonbiodegradeable plastics out of landfills and the ocean.

According to the program’s website, Aveda “accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene plastic, sometimes noted with a 5 in the chasing arrows recycling symbol. This includes caps that twist on with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter.”

As recycling becomes second nature for consumers, it seems likely that more and more beauty companies will prioritize keeping the planet as beautiful as it keeps its customers.