Global countries are echoing circular economies. However, what happens if one of the circular economy ingredients is human hair? In fact, human hair has turned into a drain cleaner in Belgium.
A Belgian NGO has turned human hair into tiles that absorb environmental pollution. Dung Dung, a Belgian NGO, leader of the hair recycling project developed a waste recovery scheme and supports a circular economy.
In this project, hairdressers across the country collect hair. It is then put into a machine which turns it into a crumpled box. These tiles can absorb oil and other hydrocarbons that pollute the environment into bio-composite bags.
This tool can absorb pollution in the water before it reaches the river. It can even solve pollution problems caused by floods and clean up oil spills. One kilogram of hair can absorb seven to eight liters of oil and hydrocarbons.
“Our products are more ethical because they are produced locally. It’s not imported from the other side of the planet,” said one of the project’s founders, Patrick Janssen.
Other Forms of Recycling
As well as being a drain cleaner, it turns out that their hair is used for a variety of uses. For example, garden fertilizers utilize the nitrogen content in the hair. Companies are also experimenting with using hair as a building material.
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London-based biomanufacturing company Biohm is using waste human hair to produce an alternative to wood-based sheet materials and 3D objects. At this year’s London Design Week, Studio Sanne Visser unveiled a home kit that incorporates human hair strands.
On its website, the Hair Recycling Project extols hair’s strong properties: a single strand can support up to 10 million times its own weight. As well as absorbing fats and hydrocarbons, water is soluble and highly elastic due to its keratin fibers.