Dog hair: The new answer to oil spills

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Jaz the poodle was in for her regular cut and style at West End Grooming today. When she came in, she had no idea her shaved hair would be getting new life.

"For years our clients have walked in the door and remarked on the hair and said, isn't there something you can do with it," said Kit Brooking, West End Grooming, Co-Owner. "We have always lamented that we couldn't. We throw away probably three to four garbage bags a day."

 West End groomers cut about 30 dogs a day. Instead of the piles of straight, curly and shiny fur going going to the dumpster, the hair is getting a new home. It's being swept up, bagged, boxed and sent to San Francisco.

"Last night my partner Fran's daughter send us a link to this website that says the hair can be used to collect oil in the Gulf and it was like goosebump time," says Kit.

Matter of Trust takes human and dog hair, stuffs it into recycled nylon stockings and makes what's called hair booms and hair mats. The booms look much like a long sausage and the mats are large sturdy, life-sized squares. The booms are placed in the water to soak up oil. Apparently hair is absorbant.

"We shampoo hair because it collects oil. We shampoo it for that reason and someone was clever enough to go, oh, we can use it for a mat, we can use it for a boom, so it's just a revelation," says Kit.

It was after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska that hair stylist Phil McCrory invented the hair booms. Now salons all over the world are sending in the "fallen on the floor" hair to Matter of Trust. The hair booms and mats have been used in large and small oil spills.

"You always want to help when things like that happen, " says Kit. "But there's not necessarily anything you can do and we can make some hair."

And now West End groomers are urging all those in the hair cutting industry to join in.

"I just hope everyone in the hair cutting industy in Austin will get on the band wagon," says Kit. "There are oil spills all the time unfortunately. And we can keep sending hair. We can keep helping. I just think it's lovely."