Gurugram founder turns salon hair waste into mats that clean polluted water
Rahul Gupta of the Kesakambali Foundation is repurposing discarded human hair from salons into mats that filter oil and pollutants from water. The system acts as a low-cost, natural supplement to existing sewage treatment infrastructure.
Why it matters
It demonstrates an innovative, circular-economy approach to urban water pollution management.
What happens to the strands of hair swept off the floor after a haircut? For most people, the answer is simple: they go straight into the bin. But in Gurugram, something that is usually treated as salon waste is being given a rather unexpected second life- as a tool to tackle polluted water.Rahul Gupta, founder of the Kesakambali Foundation, has been collecting discarded human hair from salons and turning it into mats that can be placed in polluted drains and waterways. The idea may sound unusual, even improbable at first. Yet the science behind it is surprisingly simple: human hair can naturally absorb oils and certain contaminants.The initiative has now drawn attention for its attempt to use this everyday waste to intercept pollution before it reaches larger water bodies.
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