Hey everyone, and welcome back to practically zero waste a podcast for making zero waste living as practical as possible. If you're new to the podcast welcome. And if you've been with us from the beginning, welcome back, my name is elsbeth Callahan and I'm so glad to have you here. If you'd like to receive episodes as soon as they come out hit that subscribe button in the Apple podcast app or wherever you get your podcast. There's a new episode every Sunday. If you'd like to support the podcast you can head to Anchor dot f m / practically zero waste and hit the support button and if you'd like to ask us a question Question or suggest a topic for the show you can email us at practically zero waste at gmail.com cutting your hair is often an overlooked part of going zero waste, but today's conversation with the owners of provide care lounge and Peterborough make it easy today. I learned about green circle salons recycling hair and how to reduce chemicals and packaging and whatever your beauty routine is don't have a beauty routine me neither, but let's get real composting your hair's pretty cool. Well, I'm Carrie McMaster and this is I'm Stephen stamp to me, but I guess revive started four years ago. That's all it's almost his third birthday. But every year well, yeah, but you're prepping Trace we had a year of sort of Designing and making it a reality. Oh, yeah, because it takes so much time to start a business lending space getting everything set and ready to go. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about you. Eco-friendly mindset and what is driving revive my background is I'm a hairdresser for 16 years and I had a background with fradkin and they're they're a big company. Right and I went to this thing a class at Toronto and they had this recycling program and I thought what the hell is this? Yeah, so I was curious about that and and I always thought you know, yeah, I'm totally going to implement that when I you know favor have a Status or whatever, you know, I kind of a thing. So it's a company that was started in Toronto called Green Circle salons. And what they do is they they started out just collecting hair. Okay even make Booms to to clean up oil spills, and they also make emergency emergency shelters. Like when there was the big fires in Fort McMurray and everyone got evacuated to shelters. They had a bunch of pillows made with with him. And then they like moved on to recycling foil. So for instance, if you get a highlight with the aluminum foil or anything aluminum, they recycled it goes through a washing system. The chemicals are removed. The foil is recycled. The chemicals are pulled out of the water and used as energy. I'm not really sure how they do that. Okay, and then the water is released and then they dispose of waste like if you have extra color they dispose of that in the same way without putting it into the ground. Okay. Um, it's Interesting that they also Source out provincially so right is it? Oh my God, I forgot his name the guy from green circles, but he was saying that because I wanted I wanted you waxing and he said well, we don't have anyone in this province to recycle that all okay, but other provinces they find people right. So I thought that was really cool the and their mission is to be Global like it's not about you know, we did a partnership we try to encourage other salons to do it for me. I think Nova scotia's the biggest one they have the most Most green circle salons. Okay. So nice thing about green circle is we didn't we didn't have to find a source of you with our hair with right? They do all that. So we just partner with them and they have beings that we send send it to them. That's so great that you were able to find a company that is totally able to take care of you as a smaller business, right? Yeah. It's amazing. How much waste there is and Harry you don't realize it like it's I used to go pick her up after work, and we didn't really think of it till after this your use whatever the Normally you see is yes think that's what it is. I would pick her up from work and she would be like, oh ice up to your garbage out and would be the one day and she would have sometimes too big full garbage bags. Can we just yeah, well here and all kinds of whatever everything. Yeah. Everything is everything was thrown out and we just thought wow, look we're starting this stuff. That's a lot of garbage for every salon. So then we started and I honestly don't know where it all came from Kiss. We have usually a bag or two like a grocery bag every business. Yeah, that's what we actually is things containers of the customers bring in that, you know, they brought food recycler number so we want to reduce that as well. I mean, you're right next to it so important. So I'm sure people are just walking on a regular basis. That's I mean, that's why one of the things we do we offered you. Because we've been coffee for our customers and we have reusable pods use a reusable pod in your Keurig. Yeah. Now my gosh, yeah, just keep going. We really just came back from Prague. We were in Prague which is a beautiful eyes and they're so clean and it's quite green there. And I I really like their way they made their Earth their coffees was espresso style. Right? I thought you know, that would be a great way to diminish plastic because I'm using classic pods. So I'm Looking into that I'm sorry surprise announcement we get from Willows bark on Charlotte. Okay. They're right it Loosely eventually also dies out for ya. Everyone loves them. That's awesome. Okay, she's ready for her tea in the in glass jars. Yeah, and you just go and refills go back and she's fills it up for which I have to do this right now. That's wonderful because for a lot of people they need you need a reason and need a motivator because like if it's it's saving money or if it's doing something good for the planet or if it's being healthier and putting less chemicals on their skin or whatever it is or eating healthier food. All these reasons are good reasons to reduce your waste and reduce your carbon footprint your trash output. But like you guys have got everything going on. This is everything. And we don't need a few people doing everything perfectly. We need millions of people doing some things what they can do and I friend of our shared post on Facebook. The other day was beautiful saying hey if you are aware of this, but you don't know anything about that. Thank you if you recycle but you don't do this. Thank you because don't feel bad about the stuff. You're not killing. Yeah, focus on the things you're doing and then try to address the other things. So there are still things that were certainly not perfect and I mean we want to try and get better at all of it, but Just trying to do as many things as we can that's wonderful and and that buzz of excitement is going to keep you going and trying new things and now you're talking about the coffee and you're going to explore that Avenues and and it's just so cool to take these baby steps each time and build on them. So as far as the business goes, like what is the process of setting up a business and sourcing all the things? I don't know anything about 45 minutes, okay. It's obviously started with an idea which actually evolved over the several months that we did our business plan. I when I first began I of course, I used the products. I knew I used Rankin products and I had some Greener products and I recycled right and shortly into it. I'm like, I want to be holistic. I want to take this further right? So then we sourced out this company from Italy which ended up being a real Opener unfortunately, we spent a good couple of years. Well, you're in a half building that line which was supposed to be fully organic and all the stuff and I actually started yet. Very sick. I my my headphones on my legs and my arms and my gosh, I guess that liver was all but it was this I went I went got an allergy test like my business they tested I'm highly allergic to this thing called methyl ioc, which is a preservative used in many household products many. Oh my God. And this meeting which was great. It was all the bottles, but I mean it was banned in Europe a year ago right for oh my God, and they're have this. Oh, we're like I can't use this right? So we found this wonderful guy Jerry from Define Beauty Systems, and he's quite green and he has great products. And then I revisit I like I said, I went online. I looked up each ingredient and I was like looking at things and finding out preservatives. I was recalling companies. And I was like and we just like went through this huge change and switched all her products for you. That's yeah to make it all happen and it I mean it's stem from her getting sick partly but her whole ethos coming into this was I want everything to be the best possible customers but also for the stylist and we employ prevalence and there are four weeks or six weeks, but the sounds are doing several times a day. This is really important for Out of of carrying the people who work for us good for you for thinking of those things too. Yes, what does green circle salons? How do they support you beyond just picking up waste that's pretty much all the other stuff is carried figuring that out and then finding and yeah, I mean the other element of course we've mentioned and I think a bit is is local sourcing. Okay, we grow their plants in there. Well, this is what we use for this problem. This is what we use for. This is pretty natural products locally and she's a medium has ritual Apothecary, which is right where the market is she's on the block of the market is great. And so they don't use preservatives right and everything. Shampoos and other companies use food grade, you know everything about the motivation of why people stood in one thing that really stands out to me really green circle. And with a lot of other things is people won't do things if it's difficult or if it's a challenging it's more effort. Realistically. We're the same like there's a very nature to be like one of these distinct but it's actually really easy like it's no harder to throw something in recycling the garbage it's know. Oh harder to throw the hair in the green circle bin. Yes. I'm in the garbage. Yes. It's all in this very low the only extra I mean washing them coffee pods. Yes, that's perfect. So good to hear that. There is an ease to your transition to doing things eco-friendly because yeah, like you said if it's not practical if it's not like that's the point of this podcast is a try and expose things that are actually really practical about this different kind of Lifestyle. Yes, if it's not easy, then people don't necessarily want to do it. Everyone thinks about Recycling and that's obviously green circle is about recycling but they're actually reusing as well. It's not just for example, but I always try and remember and share is reduce reuse recycle recycle the third one. Yes, we're trying to reduce as much as really and it really is and then the reuse the repurposing reducing carries big thing is because we do get all the bugs and even like our staff will use will see mugs are going recycling stuffing so she's had this idea. And hopefully they won't hear this before happens, you know, but she was what kept them. She's going to buy the much so that they have a reusable mug here. Yeah this lifestyle for your staff to because him when you're looking at your garbage output and it's already so minimal. You can very easily see the individual things that are in your garbage can it's not like a huge bin that you just Well, there's lots of stuff in there if you're like, well there's to Tim Hortons cups and two rappers from sandwiches and like, you know recycled or in the right acceptable or skipped altogether. So I think when you said reduce reuse recycle almost want to you know, when you sit you're offering somebody to choices and you kind of want them to choose one over the other you'd be like, do you want a banana or do you want an apple? The last thing that they here is the thing that they remember the most I think I think I don't know if that's a thing. But like what I find is you're right. The emphasis is on recycling produces. The first thing you should do. Yeah, and then then you go to reuse or repurpose and then you could recycle for the order is important but people are forgetting about the first two. So yeah. Anyway, that's just something that important to emphasize all of those steps because they are In a certain order for a reason. Yeah, tell me a little bit about the product. What kind of dies do you use what kinds of shampoos and stuff like any brands that you really like to celebrate? Well our color line. We use the BIOS Deke. It's a Bo strategic love feels, right? Well how a smaller European company and they still hand batch their products. If something hasn't been tested on human for 50 years. They don't put it in. Wow, so they're very concerned about what's going on our bodies great and how they process it and how they make you know, what they do with their waists and stuff. So I'm very happy with their products or very gentle they have like aloe vera Japanese hear things that are very soothing to the skin reduce chemicals obviously color does have chemical. Unfortunately. If you choosing to color you will be exposed to some chemical. Yeah, but it is the least amount that you need and our shampoos that we carry we have. No three lines. So we carry an Inca from Montreal playing third grade and they're so good. They're their whole word means water. Right? So everything in their will in their shampoo is not going to harm anything as yes, I think on their bottles that says you can shower in your home or in a raging River and very few like that then we used on Masters. He started the very first green aircraft. Sorry cleaner salon. In New York, I really like 25 years ago. Wow, and he does seem a color like he won't use chemicals at all. Like yeah, he's his products. I really like their full of essential oils. So you get all that fun smelling. Yeah and good quality. And then we have a little Boutique company from where I'm from Victoria, BC called Barbara and Fritz and I love the owner. I had the pleasure of chatting with prior to like, I really wanted her stuff in the beginning, but I wasn't ready. Take on the full line. She was a hairdresser for 20 years and then started this company 10 years ago, and she she basically had batches these products. There's several of them. They're all at your inter workable, which is is amazing / stylist products that work that you can mix together what I love about her stuff is that when I spoke with her about preservatives she was so caring and she was like, you know, yeah. I know she uses food grade, and she's always looking. For better quality. Wow, that's great and always aware of it. So she may not advertise that and she also doesn't like do this spring thing or the next fall looks like she's just like these are my products they work and that's it. You know, she's not packaging is beautiful. Yeah. It is really beautiful. There are some that are plastic. We also have Cosmetics. Oh, yeah. I'm just learning about really Oh, there's you know them and I'm just I'm just heard about them because hello baby carries them as well, but they yeah, they seem super good look guys, I guess go ahead and they have the containers are made of bamboo. Okay, great. Yeah, and so you just for so for the black shirt whenever you it rotates open and you put the little disc in and then when you're done with it, you take that and you put another disc in Just some metal, aren't they? Yeah, so they can be recycled in the so it's all in the mascaras and the refillable like say you run out of your brush. Ey refill. She has it in a paper sachet that yeah good girl flowers from yes. There is no the width of seed papers but it shift in. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. The other thing I'm learning to because I was like, well the lipsticks I just found out. I'm so excited. The lipsticks in the mascara is can be recycled. You can break open the bamboo. It remove the metal aluminum tin rinse it out and recycle it and mascaras which is our what will be doing soon is basically if you break open the bamboo, you take out the glass tubes. He clean that out rinse out the mascara wand you can actually ship it to a wildlife sanctuary. There's a number they've offered and they use it to remove knit some things on the other for cleaning. And yeah, that's amazing. So we're going to start a little box like to bring in your mascara wand. But isn't that great to know that you're not like everything she makes is we could break down. Yeah, and I love that you want to become one of the come almost a hub in the community for eco-friendly action. Like if people have mascara ones that they can clean off and bring them in like you guys have a place that you can drop them off or if you I don't know if you wait Cosmetics or other brands that you have except containers back, but if they did then maybe people could bring back their product containing To you and then you are in touch with those supplier and stuff. I don't know how that works. But we haven't really been doing that. But we haven't actually been carrying me like that long time people have used up most that's an idea that we haven't actually done yet. But I mean like people's compost will collect people's this one of those. Our plastic containers and plastic bottles. Yeah, because well, I don't think you really want class problems in your shower very much have a glass bottle with like a pump or something. So you're not. Picking up right where your hands? Yeah. I don't know. I think what they do is they use the plastic like everyone else to keep costs down. But then yes, they are. So on top of sending out there. What is it? Like for leader? Sorry for leader. Drugs that people can send back for a refill to get such a wonderful company. Okay, so we first first got their order in and we got little minis and we had the birthday were giving them out and stuff like that and they sent us. Another order and I think it must have been around Thanksgiving and inside was a beautiful card and a satchel of sage from their Garden. I'm like frollo. This is so nice, right? Like that's another thing. I love about all the companies and yeah, there's one we haven't talked about was simply natural Canada Sherry. She's a local people local town and she has her stuff here and she's wonderful products as well. And but they all like it's their people that you know reach out to me. Like they take time to talk to me. They say hello if I'm like having ordered in a while, you know that kind of a thing. Yeah. Well as other companies sometimes could be like, you know, they just don't even think kind of neglect your clients that come in are they coming in? Because they want an eco-friendly experience. But there are people who we've had some people were saying you had to find out of us. They said oh I did a Google search for environmental excellence in the area. That's great. And we do work with the random acts of green Grant. So we have people who come in and say wonderful. So it's a real mix. Yeah. Yes neighborhood people and and yeah, you definitely get people who are like sourcing out Greener products or I get the people with really sensitive skin, or are they just the other day we had to patch tests in one day from people had severe reactions. Oh, wow. We have a couple of clients who always come at the very opening very beginning of the day, right because they're sensitive to smells and I'm super sensitive to smells so I tried To learn the Spells. Yeah, because they're less toxic artificial fragrance. Nothing. Yeah, but I feel like it's pretty clean in here. Yeah, I don't smell anything right now. We're gonna you've been closed. It's all very gentle. Yeah. Yeah some some places you walk into and it's like you hit a wall is so over. Somebody in there is a bit of an ammonia smell with some of the rain the color because it's interesting. That's another thing that carry looked into she found some colors that didn't have ammonia and you're like, oh wow, that sounds so great it everyone thinks. Oh, no ammonia fantastic and then you find out ammonia is a natural substance. And I don't know if you don't have the ammonia they have to use something else which is a chemical derivative of ammonia. So basically, it's me a is commonly used and that's at the baby of ammonia. And ethanol okay and it turns slightly more liquid and you can't smell it but you still have the ammonia actually have to use twice as much didn't open the hair to allow the color going. So that's why you use those products as to actually swell the hair and allow the color to go in. So now the wiser. Okay, and so basically mea you have to use twice as much plus you also have to wash twice after you do it because it does stay on the hair in the skin. So there that's another reason I went. Tobias Tico's, they use ammonia, but they use a grade of it. That's so small just enough to open the hair. You can smell it and they make their pigments smaller so they don't have to drive in so are so very sensible. Right? So you're not getting as much chemicals and and super science. Yeah, and then the mea is like, well, you know, they don't know what it's going to do to humans yet. So that's another reason I sort of veered away from the not immune. So even though yeah, this is all these heartbreaking things I found out. Through personal experiences illegal is like it's supposed to be green. It's yes, then you do more research you find out for the real like, oh, wow you go looking like I was at cause I'll probably go grated you or can I climb and you go like it's like like and you've done the research. So that's wonderful too. Is that you The research the your clients don't have to you were the one who has gone through and figured out researched every single one of the ingredients on a product and figure it out. If it's actually good for the planet good for your body and having to be like, oh it's got something. It's got a green leaf on the packaging and the packaging is, you know, paper Brown like yeah, it must be good. Yeah carry Stones so much worker and she likes to share the credit for this long and I've gotten I've contributed. I've got a fair bit for this. But she has done all the work on all the products have been anything. She's just made it a wonderful place annual Awards in various categories, and we actually remember how we met up with the the sustainable beautiful, but they found you. The afternoon it was due to get the application nomination. And and yeah, we it's so we want to sustainable Peterborough award in the waste category for reduction of the waste that's going to landfills and it was really cool. It was actually was amazing because we got to see all these other initiatives what everyone in the community is doing in the other, you know water there's about six or eight different categories design. I mean the street that's been turned into the unused Street that's been turning being turned into a garden. Well, right. Right downtown they won. Oh, yeah deep a project project. Yeah, they want something cool these different put in your learning about all this stuff is like holy cow. It's things he'd heard a bit about got more information on and it's funny because we were wasted they go alphabetically so waste was the last or second last award and we felt pretty good about what we do and then we hear all these things were like, wow, we do this tiny little thing but it's know that's I guess the point everyone do your bit everybody contribute something rather than nothing. It all because you know, I can't do much so I might as well do nothing. Well, that's the wrong - yeah one fun thing are the awards were birdhouses. That's awesome. But people could actually use it instead of having just a big chunk of plastic as there were said, you know, very wise that a friendly face that did not have it was great it. Did you ever get people asking to take their hair home to compost it? So we had yeah, there's a lot of the marsh and get some for composting and Lea we don't actually really know how you compost for what you do. I did some research and yes, I want to know if hair how long it takes to decompose because obviously humans are biodegradable. You can you can be composted when you die. There's a thing in the space of the big initiatives. So it's kind of like freaky and morbid to think of yourself being composite. Anyway that aside school you can compost at home. You can compost your own hair. You can compost fingernails can like all kinds of stuff like that like your own. Own personal body but I don't put your nail clippings in the garbage can that can biodegrade put it in the compost? I literally put my my toenails yesterday. Yeah, but mittigar because I didn't know. It's so when I came here and nobody wants to do that. Like I don't even to be honest because I'm so spoiled that it was right there for me. I don't really know the process of yeah only is it out? Yeah, make it happen Okay. Well, yeah, there's work happening right? Come here. Yes. So many people have a backyard or a bit of green space in Peterborough that we don't need to wait for people to have Municipal compost pickup just start doing it. It's $30 if you buy a composter from the city and you just did you can get information? From Peterborough green up on how to set it up and then you just start doing it and hair is a great source for your compost because it you need to have a mix of nitrogen and carbon in your compost. You have lots and lots of carbon which is your food waste and then you have nitrogen which comes from things like grass clippings Browns and stuff like leaves but also hair is one of them you have too much because if it clumps and it can rot weirdly, but if it's like Loosely spread out if you just empty your hair brush and put it in your composter then it's really good for your plants. Yeah anyway, so that's just a fun fact for assault. I still feel like we could remember we talked earlier about the you know, if it's easy more people do it and it's way easier if the city's collecting it and you just put it out and they take it nobody deals with that. If you have to have the combos printer and use it my frustration with it is because I've tried to save some of the stuff as the mildew but Steve Was saying to me that you suggested me in the freezer. Yes. So if you are participating through share waste or bringing your compost to somebody else or somewhere else, you can put it all in a big container like with a snap lid and everything and stored in your freezer and that actually helps the compost to break down. You know, when you take like frozen berries out, they're not as perfect as they were when they went in because some of the properties of the berries are breaking down already and moisture is being lost and everything like that. So it's actually really good to like speed up the process for composting if you're free Dexter. Yeah, so go ahead and freeze it all week and then drop it off at my house. Do you have any other tips for people how to go eco-friendly researching and looking at products and maybe even coming to talk to us about the products and make small changes ya know like if your need a new mascara try one of our serving a new conditioner, maybe look into that. It just slowly start to transition. Yeah. Yeah things run out, right if you can buy new product does as things disappear ask questions. Yes, briefly we have because we have to go when we try to spread the word, you know, we refill oh naked models and but there are people who just like it and if you get it then they say like people saying is there any way I could refill this were like, yeah, we got the pumps down here. Yes. Oh, yeah and a lot of stuff. Yeah, great. Is there anybody that's inspiring you guys lately either online or companies or brands or influences? Sell the people we've talked about Karen and me and Sheree local producers we work with and I'm curious about the company down near Praxair. It's a essential oil placed called throughout the name. Anyway, it's a lovely place and other essential oils are low. Yeah, I'm curious about that. There's they're good for so many things. I mean, we like put a little essential oil on your dryer balls. Yeah, your fabric sheets smell smell so nice, but it's a gentle smile. I mean, there are things there lots of things where the actual thing I'm fine with but that when it's processed into something in a fragrance, it makes him sick. Yeah, so yet I've been using like they're almond oil just for jojoba oil. Just yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's what I was very sensitive to anything even good thing. I'm not going I feel like you're working all day and washing your hands constantly. And yeah, you must get really dry skin. So let's see your podcast to I know it's true and it's like crazy when you when you think about how how how to minimize that in your life and you look at what Everything you buy and you're like, ah, yeah, but it's so worth it. Yeah, like it's hard but it's good a difference. It makes a so where can people find you online or in Peterborough? What's around us? We're 73 Hunter Street East mini-city right side tolerance Pharmacy and it's just revive hair language.com. Yeah, you can book online, but just, you know come by or give us a call. Yeah, we'd be happy to answer questions. Thank you so much. This is really wonderful. Oh, thank you. Thanks again for listening everyone. If you want to learn more about any of our companies Brands and products that we chatted a bit today. I'll stick them in the show notes for future reference Carrie and Stephen are such a great resource for eco-friendly products. If you'd like to learn more from them, you can follow them on Instagram at revive Hair Lounge or check out their website revive Hair Lounge.com. Thanks again to everyone who participated in our giveaway winner will be announced this week on our social media. So head over to at practically zero waste pod on Instagram and Facebook to see the results enjoy looking for ways to reduce. When it comes to Hair Care may be refilling your shampoo or adding some nitrogen Rich hair to your compost bin every little bit helps to keep unnecessary junk out of our landfills. Have a good week everyone and talk to you soon.
What do you do with hair trimmings after a hair cut? What impact does your shampoo's packaging and ingredients have on the planet? Are these things we should even be wondering about? Today's chat with Kerry and Stephen from Revive Hair Lounge in Peterborough, Canada have the answers for us! https://www.revivehairlounge.com/ @revivehairlounge A Few Companies and Brands mentioned in today's interview: Green Circle Salons https://greencirclesalons.com/ Sweet Song https://sweetsong.ca/ Simply Natural Canada https://simplynaturalcanada.ca/ Elate Cosmetics https://www.elatecosmetics.ca/ Barber and Fritz https://www.barberandfritz.com/  Oneka https://onekaelements.com/fr _____________________________________________________________________________________________ New episodes every Sunday. ---   Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/practicallyzerowaste/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/practicallyzerowaste/support 