Sustainable salons – Edinburgh College joins the Green Salon Collective
Hair clippings from buzz-cuts, bobs, balayage and more at Edinburgh College’s Hairdressing and Barber salons will now be recycled thanks to a new partnership with the Green Salon Collective.
New recycling bins at campus salons, provided and collected by the Green Salon Collective, mean that hair clippings will now be recycled and turned into a wide range of new products including hair booms and mats which can be used to soak up oil, for instance, in the event of a spill into an ocean. Hair can also be donated to wig-making charities or used in garden compost mixes.
In addition, metals including foils and colour tubes will also be sent to be turned into new products. This process also prevents any chemicals and colour remaining in tubes after use from finding their way into landfill – a double win.
The College hopes to expand its partnership with the Green Salon Collective in the coming months, introducing recycling services to Beauty salons, as well as delivering more training to students as part of their courses.
We’re really pleased to be working with the Green Salon Collective to bring in new recycling bins to our salons which will ensure that we are operating more sustainably and reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill from our salons. It’s also brilliant for our students to be learning green practices within the salon environment, ensuring that when they go out to industry after they leave College, they have the skills and knowledge to be environmentally-conscious professionals and continue to do the right things to protect our planet.Jennifer Kelly, Hairdressing Curriculum Team Manager
Green Salon Collective's vision is to raise the standards of the hair and beauty industry by enabling salons and colleges to become more ethical and sustainable environments for not only the salon, but for the stylists and salon guests too. We're proud to welcome Edinburgh College to the collective, and we look forward to supporting them on their sustainability path moving forward.Paul Seward, Co-Founder of the Green Salon Collective