Human Hair: The Next Green Fertlizer?

clipped from dsc.discovery.com

Human Hair: The Next Green Fertilizer?

Photo of Hair Salon

Jan. 15, 2009 -- Scientists are exploring an Earth-friendly way to use all that hair that piles up on salon floors รข€“ as fertilizer.

"We concluded that human hair can release a sufficient amount of nutrients to support crops," said agricultural scientist Valtcho Zeliazkov of Mississippi State University in Verona. "This is a waste material with clear benefits for producers and the environment."

The idea is not entirely new. In fact, hair-based fertilizer is already commercially available. A Florida-based company called SmartGrow, for one, sells hair-containing mats that gardeners place beneath or on top of their plants.

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