NGO uses recycled hair to help restore Mexico City's agricultural islands

From hair salon floors to the canals of Xochimilco, tons of human hair are being used to clean the waters of this protected natural area in southern Mexico City. The inhabitants of Xochimilco continue to cultivate flowers and vegetables using pre-Hispanic techniques on chinampas, artificial islands built in a vast lake.

The Director of Environmental NGO Matter of Trust said that "hair has an adhesive capacity and the ability to absorb certain contaminants such as oil, grease, hydrocarbons, fecal coliforms, heavy metals... countless pollutants."

The hair is used to fill fine nets that are submerged in the water for a couple of months to absorb the pollutants and once they have served their initial purpose, the hair can be used as compost directly in the soil. Furthermore, the hair contains nutrients that are added to the soil, improving it over the next 10 to 20 years.