Dog Fur Can Help Clean Up Oil

Ever find all that excess dog hair lying around to be a pain when it comes to cleaning your house? Have you ever combed what seemed like mountains of fur off your dog and think, “If only I could do something with all this?”

Actually, that seemingly excess dog hair floating around isn’t so useless after all. Matter of Trust, a company in California, puts hair—both human and pet—to good use helping clean up the environment.

As it turns out, hair attracts oil (makes sense—that’s why we shampoo) so Matter of Trust constructs mats and “booms” (recycled nylons filled with hair and fur) out of hair to soak up oil. The company takes donations from hair salons, pet groomers and even individuals who send in bags filled with hair.

The hair is then woven into mats or stuffed into booms to mop up oil that has spilled into water or on beaches.

While the oil spill in the Gulf has recently garnered a considerable amount of attention, according to Matter of Trust there are 2,600 oil spills (that’s 726 million gallons) per year. That’s a lot of cleanup every year that doesn’t get much publicity.

The good news is that the mats are reusable and, because hair is a renewable resource, it doesn’t harm the environment.

To learn more about the process, to donate hair, or donate funds, click here.

PHOTO: Matter of Trust

Have you ever donated your dog’s fur to charity? Would you, if you had the opportunity? Tell us about it in the Comments section below!