How Salons Are Reducing Waste

Step inside the beauty industry's sustainability journey and discover how salons, brands and consumers are working together to keep more materials in use and out of landfills. What happens to your shampoo bottle after it's empty? Or the foils, applicators and other materials from your trip to the salon? In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn travels to SalonCentric in Chicago to meet with Ben Thompson—a chemical engineer and sustainability leader—to explore how the beauty industry is rethinking packaging, recycling and waste. The beauty industry generates significant amounts of waste every day, and Ben shares how they’re working to change that. From SalonCentric's partnership with Green Circle to smarter packaging design, brands, salons and recyclers are working together to recover more materials and build a more circular system. You'll hear how SalonCentric's recycling program helps salons recycle up to 95% of their waste. It’s expanding to stores nationwide and has already diverted more than 550,000 pounds of material from landfill in 2025, during the initiative’s early stages. Along the way, Ben explains why simpler packaging design can make recycling easier, how refill systems are reducing waste, and why creating a more sustainable future sometimes starts with something as simple as taking a few extra seconds to recycle an empty bottle. It's an inspiring conversation about innovation, collaboration and choices that can make a big difference.