Lush: Poole-based cosmetics firm expands in-house recycling

Lush says the plant can process 20 tonnes of plastic a week

Cosmetics brand Lush says it has completed a £2.3m recycling centre which is already processing more than 80% of its UK manufacturing waste.

The company, based in Poole, Dorset, replaced its old "Green Hub" in Hamworthy with a 40,000sqft (3,700sqm) facility in Fleets Corner.

It can process 500 tonnes of wastewater a year and 20 tonnes of plastic a week.

Lush said it hoped to encourage collaboration with groups, businesses and councils through site visits.

The new operation is three times the size of the previous plant at Hamworthy and also works to repair and reuse items.

The site, which has been open for more than a year but not running at capacity, recycled 81% of Lush's UK manufacturing waste in 2022, repaired more than 700 electrical items and donated more than 107,000 products to be reused.

Ruth Andrade, Earthcare strategy lead at Lush, said: "From the early days of the first Green Hub in 2015, it has been about much more than just ways to process materials, it has been about finding the hidden potential in the materials we use."