Hair clipped from customers is collected by Belgian hairdressers and donated to an NGO for recycling.
Hair recycle process feeds locks and tresses into a machine which converts them into tiny squares of material that can absorb oil and other pollutants in the environment.
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According to Patrick Janssen, the mats could be placed in drains to soak up oil and hydrocarbons before they enter rivers, explaining that 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of hair can absorb 7-8 litres (1.8-2.1 U.S. gallons).
The project says that hair can do remarkable things, like support up to 10 million times its weight, absorb fat and oil, and it’s highly water-soluble.
Helyode salon manager Isabelle Voulkidis pays a small fee to the project for collecting hair cuttings from dozens of hairdressers across the country.
She remarked as she clucked around with a customer’s locks: It grieves me to think that hair nowadays just gets thrown in the garbage. So many things can be done with it, I feel, such as creating lace and swan neckpieces.
