Recycling Assistant - Green Hub - Dayshift

Recycling Assistant - Green Hub - Dayshift

Department: Green Hub - Production

Employment Type: Seasonal - Full Time

Location: Poole, Dorset - Nuffield Industrial Estate

Compensation: £12.75 / hour

Diversity matters

We are building a brand that represents the people of the world. It’s what you do that counts, and we are always looking to expand perspectives and voices to shape our future.

We see you, we celebrate you, we want you!

Monday - Friday 7am - 3pm

Open to over 18 year olds only

Who we are

You might know us as the inventors of the bath bomb, but there’s more to this great-smelling, partly employee-owned, family-run company than pioneering cosmetics. We believe our business should put more back into the world than it takes and demonstrate that capitalism can be a force for good.

The Green Hub

The Green Hub is Lush’s internal repair, reuse and recycling plant responsible for the important work of processing all waste streams from the manufacturing sites, as well as the packaging returned by customers in our stores. As a goal, we aim to make our internal and customer packaging as circular as possible, making sure materials are recycled back into packaging (closed loop), or cleaned and reused.

The Green Hub attracts many visitors, including school groups, members of the local council and journalists to name but a few, in turn holding a professional manner and communicating confidently with the public is a must.

The Team

The Green Hub team is currently made up of 25 people that facilitate the waste management process and materials processing; including Recycling Assistants who are based within the building, Van Drivers and Forklift Operators who support the internal logistics and removal of waste from Manufacturing and Machine Operators who operate the Granulators.

The management team consists of a Business Manager, two Assistant Managers, a Studio & Engagement Coordinator, a Wastewater & Environmental Specialist, and two Team Leaders who are responsible for supporting the team with their day to day needs and ensuring the operations run smoothly.

Please note: We may close this vacancy early if we receive an overwhelming response or our business requirements change.

Key Responsibilities

As a Recycling Assistant within the Green Hub, you play a key role in supporting Lush’s commitment to circularity by ensuring waste and returned packaging are processed efficiently, safely, and sustainably. Working across multiple areas—including the yard (waste sorting), granulator & shredder, shop returns, washers, and product scrap/donations—you help maximise reuse and closed-loop recycling while maintaining high standards of cleanliness, organisation, and health & safety. This hands-on role requires teamwork, attention to detail, and a proactive approach to problem-solving, contributing directly to the goal of leaving the world Lusher than we found it.

Responsibilities

Yard

• Yard Operations & Waste Segregation: Efficiently manage daily yard workflow, ensuring accurate tracking and waste stream segregation, bin placement, and optimal material quality to meet site recycling targets.
• Equipment & Digital Tracking: Competently operate yard machinery, compactors, and digital tracking tools (iPad, yard checker) to log waste collection data, monitor volume build-up, and report structural or equipment damage.

Granulator

• Operation & Material Processing: Perform daily equipment checks, safely feed materials, and monitor continuous flow through conveyor systems and the granulator to process plastics into high-quality flakes.
• Quality & Contamination Control: Manually sort input streams on conveyor belts to remove non-acceptable or hazardous contaminants, protect machinery from damage, and ensure processed plastic meets site quality standards.

Shop Returns

• Process & Material Handling: Efficiently transport, open, and sort shop returns into correct material streams (plastics, glass, metals), shrink-wrap bins for yard storage, and flag new stock requiring return to Customer Services.
• Quality & Data Recording: Perform quality checks on separated items, accurately weigh bins and full containers, and record processing data on designated tracking boards to maintain operational compliance.

Donations & Scrap

• Donations & Quality Inspection: Perform spot checks on products to ensure items sent to charities or shops are clean, within date, compliant, and safely prepared for reuse.
• Picking, Packing & Recording: Accurately identify, pick, and pack orders for shops and charitable organisations by product name, maintaining organised stock areas, and notifying the Team Leader upon completion.

Behaviours and Expectations

• Reliability & Professionalism: Maintain high standards of attendance and punctuality while displaying professional conduct with colleagues, management, and external visitors.
• Communication & Escalation: Communicate clearly and proactively across all tasks, participating actively in shift handovers and promptly escalating issues, questions, or machinery concerns to leadership.
• Productivity & Time Management: Manage daily tasks efficiently to maintain continuous workflow, applying dynamic problem-solving and self-motivation to resolve operational challenges.
• Detail-Oriented Quality Control: Exercise strong attention to detail when sorting materials, conducting quality checks, and recording data to eliminate contamination risks and maintain operational standards.
• Environmental Flexibility: Comfortable and adaptable working across varied operational environments, including outdoors in all weather conditions as well as indoors, and exposed to noisy environments.
• Safety & Hazard Awareness: Maintain a strict safety-first mindset by adhering to site procedures, ensuring full PPE compliance, and immediately reporting accidents, near misses, or hazardous conditions.
• Housekeeping & Waste Stewardship: Uphold high standards of cleanliness to prevent slip, trip, and fire risks, keeping access routes clear and driving closed-loop recycling through correct material segregation.
• Teamwork & Flexibility: Collaborate effectively with colleagues, support continuous learning and cross-training, and demonstrate adaptability to meet changing operational demands or peak workloads.

Whilst working for Lush you will also receive a great range of benefits, which include:

• Bonus structure – each department has a bonus structure
• Free hot drinks and water
• 50% off products, gifts and spa treatments

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