Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Recession Cuts Operation That Uses Hair To Clean Up Oil

Posted by samzenpus on from the hair-today-gone-tomorrow dept.

Matter of Trust, a nonprofit that uses human hair scraps to make mats to clean up oil spills, finds itself with 18,000 pounds of hair and nobody to process it. Lisa Gautier, who runs the organization, says that the recession has closed many of the textile makers that produced the mats and the warehouse that stored them. Unfortunately for Lisa the hair keeps piling up. From the article: "Hair is good at soaking up oil because, up close, the strands are shaped like a palm tree with scalelike cuticles. Drops of oil naturally cling inside those cuticles, says Blair Blacker, chief executive of the World Response Group. A pound of hair can pick up one quart of oil in a minute, and it can be wrung out and reused up to 100 times, Mrs. Gautier says."

13 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious solution by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just dump it all in the Gulf of Mexico... it couldn't hurt!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Obvious solution by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't want it mutating into a giant killer toupee.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    2. Re:Obvious solution by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Funny

      I heard all the dead drug dealers in the sea off the coast of Mexico will soak up any oil that goes their way.

      --
      No sig today...
  2. Looks like cleaning up the spill... by ravenscar · · Score: 5, Funny

    could get a little hairy.

  3. Re:18,000 lbs = 4500 gallons every 12.5 days... by Dragee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly, this shouldn't be considered if it doesn't provide a comprehensive solution to the problem. It's the same reason we shouldn't be expanding solar, wind, and nuclear power generation in unison...we should definitely wait for just one technology that will serve all our needs, and not attack issues with a multi-pronged approach.

    --
    dragée (n): a sugarcoated nut
  4. Does it have to be human? by Nick+Number · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In defiance of logic, our cats seem to shed several times their own volume in hair every week.

    Using it to clean up oil spills would be more useful than having it decorate our carpets and furniture.

    --
    Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
    1. Re:Does it have to be human? by Nick+Number · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ah, the organization's page mentioned by an AC below answers my question.

      Pet owners: Fur, horse hair and wool is fine. Fur is curly which helps more in making mats. It does seem that human hair has less natural oil and is more efficient in soaking up oil. So, we are finding the sweet spot of ratio fur to hair! Pet hair doesn't have to be shampooed - but we ask that it not be filthy, please.

      I think we just found a new cause to donate to.

      --
      Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
    2. Re:Does it have to be human? by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Funny

      Except then I'd be allergic to the ocean you inconsiderate clod.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  5. And speaking of BP... by RevWaldo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you think this massive oil spill didn't have to happen, well, you're right.

    Oh, and BP bears responsibility for Exxon Valdez too.

    http://www.gregpalast.com/slick-operator-the-bp-ive-known-too-well/?print=1

    .

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  6. Old article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article is from last year. I fould a later article that actually has information relevant to the recent oil spill here: http://www.wmtw.com/mostpopular/23473933/detail.html

    The actual organization's website, which Slashdot fails to link to, is at http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html

  7. Ummm... by denmarkw00t · · Score: 4, Informative

    I just listened to a story on NPR with one of the head guys from Matter of Trust, and he mentioned nothing to this effect. In fact, he said there are warehouses all over the country helping store this, they use used stockings for the packaging, and from the sound if there are about 450,000 lbs of hair headed to the Gulf Coast right now. So who's right here? The guy on the radio sounded pretty calm, if not even stoked, about this whole thing, but TFA seems to say that Matter of Trust has no one and no way to help.

    1. Re:Ummm... by Nick+Number · · Score: 3, Informative

      Given that TFA is from last August, I'd guess they worked out the problem and that the NPR story is accurate.

      --
      Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
  8. Re:Hmmm..... by doug141 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not to mention the day we talked about sarcasm.