Our Recycling Program
Who is our recycler?
We recycle with Gaia Commercial Recycling solutions! Formerly known as Style Recycling, Gaia is a Canadian salon waste diversion program based out of Okotoks, Alberta, now branching out to the Okanagan. collects, recycles and re-purposes salon waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill... helping facilitate salons in becoming more sustainable, and keeping as many things out of the landfill and waterways as possible!
how does this recycling program work?
Gaia's program begins with the delivery of four cardboard boxes, and a plastic-lined bin. Each cardboard box collects one of the four; hair, paper, plastic or metal. The plastic-lined bin collects leftover colour that would otherwise be rinsed down the drain and back into our waterways.. which is a terrible thing for the environment.
Once we fill a bag with hair, foil, colour, plastic or paper, we give our rep a call. Our bags are collected and our rep sorts things out from there.
What kind of waste are we talking about?
You would be amazed at the amount of waste one salon can generate. Hair clippings, used colour tubes, used foils, leftover colour and aerosol cans and plastic colour bottles pile up in staggering amounts, and in the past... everything used to go straight into the garbage. Even regular recycling programs weren't cutting it.. because there's still hair, leftover colour, foils and all kinds of other stuff that you just can't blue-bin.
Gaia collect ALL these items (along with the usual recyclable materials like paper, plastics and glass) and ensures that these items stay out of the landfill.
Where does the plastic go?
Our Gaia rep personally sorts and separates all the different types of plastic, and then he takes it to a bulk recycler called Planet Earth Recycling, located in West Kelowna. Planet Earth uses some of the plastic locally, and the rest gets sent to Vancouver. A lot of the plastic is incinerated for energy purposes - unfortunately, there really aren't many alternatives to incineration for most plastics - this is why it is so important to reduce how much plastic we are consuming, and to also lobby the government to impose tougher restrictions so that manufacturers are forced to produce more eco-friendly packaging.
Where do the paper products go?
Cardboard, paper and even electronics are also dropped off at Planet Earth Recycling. There, it gets sorted into tree categories: cardboard, newsprint, office paper. They are then shipped to Cascades Recovery in Kelowna, who markets the material to various recyclers in Canada, the United States, and overseas (the destination depends on where there are markets for these materials.)
Where does the metal go?
Gaia uses ABC Recycling in Kelowna, who deal with scrap metal of all kinds, ferrous and non ferrous.
Arguably the greatest volume of salon waste comes in the form of used foils. We can attest to this – it piles up FAST, and takes up a massive amount of space.
Focused on keeping this foil out of the landfill, Gaia compresses it into bricks – five big bags of used foil compressed makes a brick that is roughly 2 cubic feet in size, weighing approximately 15 pounds! This foil is considered garbage foil – meaning it can’t be repurposed. This is true of any foil that is recycled. Instead, these bricks are incinerated for energy purposes.
While this is not ideal, once again.. there aren’t viable alternatives to incineration yet.
So what about those hot new biodegradable foil-alternatives?
Through research and discussion with industry experts, we learned that what we would really be doing is switching to bioplastic.
What's so bad about bioplastic?
*We apologize in advance for this depressing reality:
It turns out that bioplastic contains just as many toxic chemicals as petroleum-based plastic.
Then, there are the environmental concerns with how much water is being used to grow the plants to produce the bioplastic. Is it being ethically grown? Studies suggest that it is NOT. Bioplastic requires chemical processing for that organic material to actually be made into plastic. This manufacturing process actually contributes more to ozone depletion than traditional plastics, plus production requires extensive land use.
Bioplastic is derived from plant sugars, but in order to breakdown the material, special composting facilities need to exist, because the material is broken down by microbes and heat... so bioplastic won't decompose on its own in a timely fashion.
The final nail in the coffin for us was learning that bioplastic won't break down in the ocean - which means that it is actually contributing to the micro-plastic problem. As our rep said when we asked, “How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?”
Indeed. And this has been the realization we've had time and time again with so-called "eco friendly" products – it sounds so good.. and then we find out it's even worse that what we're replacing.
For now, believe it or not, it is still better for the environment for us to use traditional foil.
And that is SAD. We haven’t given up, though! We are always reading, always searching, and we’re certain that one day we’ll find a foil alternative that really IS better for the environment... and you can bet that we'll be leaving foil behind the second we find it!
Where does the excess colour go?
The name of the game with excess colour is to keep it out of the wastewater treatment process. Gaia sends the excess colour via Clean Harbours to Vancouver - Clean Harbours is a massive company specializing in keeping and processing toxic waste materials. The water and oil are separated from the chemicals. The wastewater is treated and is never sent back into waterways. Instead, settling ponds collect the waste as the water evaporates. The settled material is then collected and treated. This is important, because chemicals should not be going to our solid wastewater treatment plant. The oil and the waste are then incinerated for energy co-generation purposes.
Where does the hair go?
This is the coolest part; being that it's biodegradable, the hair is composted! It can also be used as mulch, so believe it or not... our rep is actually using the collected hair in his own garden! The hair provides an excellent source of slow-release nitrogen for the soil, and it's also great to sprinkle around plants to deter animals and other pests.