Here in the Carbon Almanac community we acknowledge that the third ‘R’ - recycle - is one of the least helpful when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is much more important to reduce and reuse than to rely on recycling materials after the fact - particularly things like plastic which in reality are seldom recyclable despite what the plastic industry would like you to believe.
But what about something that is a personal renewable resource that continues to grow from childhood to old age? If you guessed your hair, you’d be right.
In Belgium, an NGO called Dung Dung is collecting cut hair from salons and turning the clippings into “matted squares that can be used to absorb oil and other hydrocarbons polluting the environment or made into bio-composite bags”. The salons pay a small fee to have the hair collected and kept out of the landfill.
What will the next creative idea be to further the reuse effort? Will it be yours?