Posted on 05/03/2010 10:21:13 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Clippings turned into booms to absorb oil
Hair stylists work hard to keep their floors clear of hair clippings, and certainly no one wants it in the sink. The's just downright gross, not to mention bad for the pipes. But a non-profit group in San Francisco is making hair a friend to the environment.
Apparently, during the nasty Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, a stylist down south was watching the coverage of animals covered in oil and had an "ah-ha" moment. He realized hair is absorbent as he had a client in the shampoo bowl. That gave birth to the hair mat. Fast foward to a group called Matter of Trust in San Francisco. Lisa Gautier says they are collecting hair from salons and individuals -- even animal fur -- to make absorbant boom to send to areas affected by the giant oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.
Matter of Trust helped out shortly after the Cosco Busan spill in the Bay Area in 2007. Much of that bunker fuel washed up on Bay Area beaches and crews used the hair creations almost like a paper towel.
The hair mats are about the size of a small door mat with the feel of an SOS pad. Right now, giant boxes of hair donations are landing in San Francisco from places like Illinois and even as far away as Australia. It doesn't even have to be your own. Gautier says that hair extensions made from real hair work great too.
If you would like to donate some clippings, check out www.matteroftrust.org.
You get an added bonus with feathers too.
When it comes time to pick up the tar and feathers off the beach you can just role a member of congress through it.
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