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With about 30,000 hair salons in Canada using sprays, dyes and foils, the industry鈥檚 environmental impact is significant. So when Leanne Boyd, owner of Level 10 Eurospa, discovered that her salon could become sustainable by partnering with Green Circle Salons, she didn鈥檛 hesitate.

鈥淚t was a no-brainer for us,鈥� says Boyd. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always done our part with LED lighting, low-flow toilets, power smart washers, recycling. Unfortunately, our regional recycling program only dealt with so much and the rest went in the landfill. I鈥檇 heard about Green Circle three years ago and now that they鈥檙e offering their services in B.C., we can manage over 95 per cent of all our salon waste through them and the rest is compost.鈥�

The Toronto-based company offers salons a comprehensive recycling/repurposing program that ensures foils, colour tubes, plastics, papers and chemicals get diverted out of local waste and water systems 鈥� some of it even turns into energy for BC Hydro when incinerated.

All hair clippings are repurposed into mats and booms used to contain oil spills. Hair takes a long time to decompose and could sit in a plastic bag in a landfill for centuries. Its oil-absorption properties, however, make it a perfect material for spill clean-ups.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty amazing actually,鈥� Boyd said. 鈥淥ur clients are thrilled their hair clippings can be used for something positive like that, and it鈥檚 been surprisingly easy to do. We just have a few more bins to separate hair, used foils, colour tubes and excess spa waste. Then we ship it to Burnaby to be dealt with appropriately and responsibly.鈥�

By charging a small eco-fee of $1.50, the salon shares the expense with clients.

鈥淭he reaction has been overwhelmingly positive,鈥� Boyd said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all proud here at Level 10 to keep our clients and the planet beautiful.鈥�

The salon is at 1025 Cliffe Ave.