Australia’s hairdressers are getting serious about recycling, using clippings for compost, turning bottles into eyewear, and keeping bleach out of the drain
I’m at the salon and the hairdresser is talking rubbish. To be precise, she’s telling me exactly how much waste her salon recycles: last year it was 1.25 tonnes, the weight of a Volkswagen Golf.
Kristi Lauren has signed up to one of Australia’s two salon-specific recycling programs, where everything from hair to bleach to shampoo bottles are diverted from landfill and recycled in innovative ways. Last year she sent off 65 rubbish bags of hair, 115 of metal, 149 of plastic and 117 of paper and cardboard.