As the growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico moves towards fragile ecosystems on the coast, people are starting to ask what they can do to help clean up the spill. A California non-profit called Matter of Trust has a popular answer: Donate your dog hair.
According to Matter of Trust, your puppy’s annoying habit of shedding all over the couch can now help save the environment. You (or the dog grooming place, or even your own hair salon – although your hair clippings are not as cute, they also work) send boxes of hair to the non-profit’s warehouse, where they assemble the hair into mats or stuff them into pantyhouse casings, creating something resembling a hair sausage. The hair is then submerged into the ocean, where theoretically, oil clings to the hair shaft like shampoo.
So which mad scientist thought up this idea? Actually, it was a hairdresser in Alabama. During the Exxon- Valdez spill in 1989, hairdresser Phil McCrory saw an image of an otter with oil clinging to its coat. McCrory thought that human hair might have the same effect.
CNN reported on the invention of McCrory’s oil spill hair mats: “To prove his theory, McCrory did some experiments in his back yard. He took hair cut at his salon and stuffed it into his wife’s panty hose to create a sponge for oil. He then poured some oil into a wading pool, threw in the panty hose filled with hair and waited. A few minutes later he was amazed to find ‘nice clear water.’”
Because McCrory lived near NASA in Huntsville, he asked scientists there to check his invention out. Apparently, NASA gave it a look over and said it would work, although the extent of the testing is unknown. Now McCrory markets his hair mat product both for oil spills and for the plant industry, and he has a deal with Matters of Trust for them to manufacture the product, which is called OttiMat (presumably in honor of the oil-covered otter).
The hair mats have been used in oil spill cleanups since Exxon-Valdez, but there don’t seem to be any studies about how effective they are, beyond NASA’s initial assessment. Or at least, I couldn’t find any scientists commenting on the method in use, in my research around the internet. And, you’ve got to wonder about how rigorously NASA tests citizen-created hair mats.
I’m not saying that hair mats don’t work. They make sense, in theory. Plus, who doesn’t want to enlist the discarded hair of cute animals to save other cute animals? If anything, I would love to send my dog’s hair off to a good cause, rather than the garbage can. But it does seem a bit questionable to give major credence (and major news coverage) to a technique whose major testing stage happened in a backyard pool.
Thank you for sharing this story. I’m sending a link to this story and the link to Matters of Trust to a dog groomer friend and my hair salon.
Best, Sue
PS I love this web site. I’ve got the widget link to Skywatching Center that I check daily.
There’s something really reassuring about this story. Humans cause the mess … human hair, and dog hair, to clean up the mess. If it works …
I feel compelled to share an experience I had a number of years ago that may or may not be of help with cleaning oil-covered wildlife: A feral kitty staggered into my yard one evening and I was shocked to see he was completely covered nose to tail-tip in thick, black motor oil. How this happened I’ll never know. I was able to get every bit of oil off of him by rubbing generous handfuls of corn meal into his fur. The corn meal immediately absorbed the oil and fell away, eventually revealing a big fluffy gray and white kitty underneath! He was very, very grateful! I don’t know if corn meal would work to absorb the crude version of oil from the spill, but perhaps it might be worth a try. Much love to you, Earth & Sky!!
Tessalin – Great story! What made you think of cornmeal? It sounds like it might be a good strategy not for releasing into the ocean, but maybe for cleaning up oil-soaked wildlife like you did with the feral kitten. Who knows – the dog hair mats were invented much the same way.
For years I’ve rubbed corn meal into oily spots from food on my clothing- it is very effective for getting the oil out quickly when you do it right away. I’ve also used corn meal to clean up oil drips in the garage- sprinkle it on, sweep it up! I didn’t know what else to do so I tried it on the kitty!
I had no idea that cornmeal was a veritable vinegar of home uses. I will definitely have to try that – and I’ll know what to do if an oil-covered kitty comes into my yard.
I also use finely ground corn meal every morning in the shower as a facial scrub. I often skip using soap on my face because it is so drying- the corn meal removes the oil and exfoliates the surface leaving my face feeling fresh and supple!
I live in Antioch Il. and am able to donate approx 50 lbs of hair a day – how do you get it to the gulf coast, how much does it cost per lb. and/or is the shipping free. The grooming shop does 35+ dogs a day – many are Newfinlanders, shepards, labordoddles & other large breeds
Seana, for answers, contact the non-profit coordinating the effort: Matter of Trust.
Email: team@matteroftrust.org
.Main:…….415 242-6041
.Press: > ..415 235-2403
Funding:>.415 235-2403
suggestion tools that used to clean-up oil spills in the water and on the lands.
I would not think I have ever noticed some sort of website with this several remarks on it!
great post
and great blog
Is the hair of cats to be spit upon? Perhaps they just shed less.