A Houston college’s cosmetology program is donating leftover hair clippings to help clean up the Gulf oil spill.
Remington College is collecting discarded hair clippings at its three Houston campuses and donating them to San Francisco-based nonprofit Matter of Trust, which will use the material to make booms and mats to contain oil spills.
Students and staff are sweeping up the hair from the salon floors and saving it in bags and boxes for shipment to the organization.
Hair is known to be very efficient at attracting oily substances. Matter of Trust stuffs the donated hair into booms make of donated nylon stockings, creating a cheap, yet effective way of collecting crude oil floating on the water’s surface.
Remington College has 20 locations nationwide and is based in Heathrow, Fla.
The Houston Business Journal is providing continuous coverage of the Gulf oil spill.
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