Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Salon Evolve joins industry recycling program
Limerick salon expects to recycle up to 95 percent of its waste
LIMERICK » Salon Evolve of Limerick has joined a growing recycling and sustainability program run by Green Circle Salons. The goal of the program is to significantly reduce the industry’s environmental impact.
Salon Evolve owner Kim McQuillan’s salon at 214 W. Ridge Pike in Limerick is one of the nearly 2,100 salons across the U.S. and Canada that have become Green Circle certified.
The salon officially joined the initiative June 1, but McQuillan said as soon as the staff heard about the program they began collecting and saving items, rather than throwing them out.
“We always tried to throw out the least amount we could and we have always recycled. We never knew just how much we could recycle,” McQuillan said. “Hopefully more salons will become involved in Green Circle — and learn about the program.”
McQuillan said she learned about the program when she was doing some research about plants for the salon.
Through its partnership with Green Circle Salons, McQuillan’s Salon Evolve is collecting what was once considered garbage — including hair
clippings, extensions, excess color and developer, papers and plastics, foils, aerosol cans and color tubes.
That waste is then shipped to Green Circle Salons where it is repurposed into innovative green solutions. McQuillan expects Salon Evolve will be able to reduce its total waste by as much as 95 percent.
“Had I known about this, we would have been doing it sooner,” she added.
Hair clippings, for example, can be turned into hair booms to clean up oil spills or made into pillows for international aid efforts. Color tubes and used foils can be recycled into new metal and chemical residue can be recycled into new sources of energy.
So just how much waste do salons generate? According to Green Circle Salons, a total of 421,206 pounds of waste are generated by salons every day across North America.
McQuillan said that not
only will Salon Evolve recycle its own waste products, but it invites clients to drop off their used hair products for the salon to recycle, rather than just throw them away.
Taking it one step further, McQuillan said the salon will also be a drop off point for the community during the last week of each month for used hair styling tools like blow-dryers, curling irons and aerosol cans.
The way the program works, Green Circle provides Salon Evolve with receptacles and bags to collect the waste — which salon employees separate by material.
“We fill the boxes and when they are filled we get it packed up and we call the shipper and then they come pick up and then send us another package of shipping materials,” McQuillan said.
She added that her staff of 22 full-and part-time employees has been excited about the program since the beginning.
“Once we learned more about the program, my
whole team was part of reorganizing the salon and back room and packing the materials up properly,” McQuillan said. “They are all passionate about saving our environment and our local landfills for our families and our clients’ families.”
McQuillan said there were some up-front costs to join the Green Circle program. As a result, the salon has added a $1 charge for clients for implementation of the program.
Salon Evolve will be celebrating 16 years in business this year. McQuillan, who started doing hair when she was 19, said she has always been passionate about the industry.
“I love the atmosphere of the salon and the people,” she said.
While working at other salons, McQuillan said she always has traveled to New York City and California for education.
She said that after about 10 years of working, she realized the time might be right to start her own salon.
“I was ready to branch out on my own. I wanted Salon Evolve of Limerick is part of a growing recycling and sustainability program run by Green Circle Salons. As part of the program, the salon recycles its salon waste through Green Circle to be repurposed, instead of sending it to landfills. This photo is an example of information the salon has included on its Facebook page to explain the effort. to share my vision of a salon experience,” she said. “I wanted more of an experience for our clients to make them feel beautiful while they’re here.”
Salon Evolve offers a full line of services for hair — including extensions, as well as eyelash extensions, waxing and microblading. The salon also carries its own line of haircare products — a line McQuillan launched in 2007, “to bring healthier products to clients.”
McQuillan worked with a chemist to develop the line, which is sulfate free.
“I know all the ingredients that are in our products,” she said. “Customers love it. It has been successful
for us and their hair is healthier.” McQuillan added that the salon also has a line of make-up products that was launched in 2014.
Of the nearly 2,100 salons in the U.S. and Canada that are Green Circle certified, 10 are in Pennsylvania and four are in the tri-county region. Of those four, two participating salons are in Limerick.
“There are a lot of salons around here,” McQuillan said. “A lot of the salons don’t know about the program, or else I think they would be doing it,” she added.
For more information about Salon Evolve www. salonevlolve.com
Green Circle Salons was launched in 2009 to help the salon industry reduce its environmental footprint and provide options for consumers seeking genuine green options in salon care. For more information visit www.greencirclesalons.ca.
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