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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 bio-composite bags.
Project Co-founder Patrick Janssen, explaining that 1 kilogram
(2.2 lbs) of hair can absorb 7-8 litres (1.8-2.1 U.S. gallons)
of oil and hydrocarbons, said the mats 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."
The project said on its website that hair has powerful
properties: one strand can support up to 10 million times its
own weight, and as well as absorbing fat and hydrocarbons, it is
water-soluble and highly elastic due to its keratin fibres.
Isabelle Voulkidis, manager of the Helyode salon in Brussels, is
one of dozens of hairdresser across the country that pay a small
fee to the project to collect their hair cuttings.
"What motivates me, personally, is that I find it a shame hair
is nowadays just thrown in the bin, when I know that so much
could be done with it," she said, as she combed and clipped one
of her customer's hair.
(Additional reporting by Clement Rossignol; Writing by John
Chalmers; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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