Are Plastic Deodorant Containers Recyclable?

How do you recycle a plastic deodorant tube? It’s much more complicated than one might think. There’s several kinds of plastic that can make up one single tube.

Most deodorant tubes contain high-density or low-density polyethylene (ie. HDPE/#2 plastic or LDPE/#4). But some parts are made with Polypropylene. And you know that little dial at the bottom that pushes it up? Yep, that can be a different type of plastic container. Same with the little tray that holds the deodorant stick, and the post that runs up the middle. Even the cap is sometimes a different type of plastic than the body of the tube. Putting them in the recycling process might feel good, but you practically need an engineering degree to make sure you don’t contaminate your entire load of recycling. You need to dissect that deodorant container down into its individual parts, clean them thoroughly, and only recycle those marked with a recycling code. By the time you’re done, you’ve used a bunch of water, wasted time, and still there’s only a slight chance that those parts will actually wind up being recycled at recycling facilities.

There’s a better way. You don’t need a complicated plastic tube to apply stick deodorant. All of this is why HiBAR plastic-free deodorant comes in our unique recyclable and compostable cardboard tube.

And that’s not all. What we put inside the tube matters too. HiBAR is a natural deodorant, free of all of the bad stuff you might find in traditional deodorants. We don’t use parabens, triclosan, phthalates, propylene glycol, or aluminum. Our natural deodorant is nothing but all-natural, all-day protection, with no animal cruelty, and of course zero plastic.

If you want to be more eco-conscious, you can choose paper or refillable deodorant options instead of the usual deodorant packaging made from different plastics. Some brands also offer roll on deodorants which have their own packaging options that are easier to recycle. Over time, materials like our paper tube will eventually biodegrade, reducing environmental impact far better than typical deodorant containers made of plastic.