By Anna Ellis • 30 December 2022 • 12:10
Hairdressers across Belgium are sweeping up and bagging hair clipped from their customers. Image: t.max/Shutterstock.com.
The organisation then recycles the hair to protect the environment.
The Hair Recycle project feeds locks and tresses into a machine that turns them into matted squares that can be used to absorb oil and other hydrocarbons polluting the environment, or made into biocomposite bags.
Project co-founder Patrick Janssen, explained that 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of hair can absorb 7-8 litres of oil and hydrocarbons, and the matted squares can be placed in drains to soak up pollution in water before it reaches a river.
“Our products are all the more ethical as they are manufactured locally, they are not imported from the other side of the planet,” he told Reuters. “They are made here to deal with local problems.”
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Originally from the UK, Anna is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at [email protected]
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