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Parkersburg salon a cut above with its recycling

Photo Provided Aspire employees Jackie Shaffer, Oddy Smith, Becky Cowling and Casey Stier with two of the recycle bins used in the Green Circle Salons program.

PARKERSBURG — A Parkersburg salon has joined an initiative addressing the tremendous amount of waste generated every day by hair salons across North America.

As a new Green Circle Certified Salon, Aspire Salon on Market Street is part of a recycling and sustainability program to reduce the salon industry’s environmental impact on the planet.

From the sourcing of ingredients to the disposal of packaging and products, the salon and beauty industry has long posed many challenges to the environment, a news release said. Salons each day account for 63,180 pounds of hair clippings, 42,122 pounds of hair color, 109,512 pounds of foil and color tubes and 206,392 pounds of wastepaper, salon bottles and other paper and plastic items.

With this in mind, Aspire Salon joined forces with Green Circle to reduce the ecological footprint and make the industry more sustainable.

Through the partnership with Green Circle Salons, Aspire will redirect what was once considered garbage from landfills to be repurposed into innovative green solutions. Starting Oct. 1, all hair clippings, extensions, excess color and developer, papers and plastics, foils, aerosol cans and color tubes from Aspire have been collected by Green Circle, effectively cutting down the salon’s waste stream by 85-95 percent, company officials said.

“We were excited about so many of GCS’s projects, especially the hair booms made from the hair we cut from clients every day,” Aspire owner and lead stylist Pam Creel said. “Hair booms can be used to help clean up oil spills; the hair absorbs the oil, keeping it from contaminating waterways and killing wildlife. Many in our community are conscious about sustainability and we wanted to do our part.

“We would love to see other salons and businesses get on board and find what program is right for them in these efforts to go green and protect the earth.”

Green Circle Salons is a movement to help the salon industry reduce its environmental footprint and provide options for consumers seeking genuine green options in salon care.

Since its inception in 2009, Green Circle built a network of certified salons, providing them with a comprehensive pathway to green solutions including recycling and the repurposing of hair for the manufacturing of oil spill booms in partnership with the British Columbia Corrections and the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, emergency bedding used in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and other ongoing sustainable research applications.

Today, Green Circle diverts waste from landfill spaces in every Canadian province and 45 states in the U.S. and has the capacity to service every zip and postal code in North America. Green Circle works with a growing list of leading green companies and industry and is committed to giving back 5 percent of pre-tax profits to local and international organizations to support programs for creative environmental impact and positive change, officials said.

“This exciting partnership for a downtown salon should inspire us all to consider what items we could recycle instead of sending to our county landfill,” Andy Hartleben, board member of the Wood County Solid Waste Authority, said.

Aspire Salon opened in February at 705 Market St. and serves men, women and children. The salon is open Tuesdays through Saturdays.

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