Human hair is being used to clean up oil spills
Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
At its workshop in San Francisco, Matter of Trust produces mats made from donated human hair and animal fur, to soak up oil spills. They have been used to clean up minor spills, like this one caused by a road accident, and are also helpful for major spills.
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Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
Pictured, Matter of Trust volunteers using hair mats to clean up oil from a San Francisco beach in 2007, after the Cosco Busan container ship spilled more than 50,000 gallons of oil following its collision with the San Francisco Bay Bridge.
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Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
Every day, Matter of Trust receives packages of ponytails in the post.
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Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
Its staff process the hair using a nail board and brushes, as well as felting machines.
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Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
The finished mats are two foot square and one-inch-thick, and can adsorb up to 1.5 gallons (5.6 liters) of oil.
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Photos: Mats made from human hair are cleaning up oil spills
Matter of Trust founder Lisa Gautier says she has noticed that a lot of red hair is donated from the Boston area.
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