Reducing, re-using and recycling have become familiar terms in our lives, both at home and at work, as the focus on cutting our carbon footprint intensifies.
We now see a number of national and global campaigns such as World Recycling Day, National Composting Day and now Recycle Week - all aimed at promoting the environment, encouraging us to get involved and giving us advice on the small things we can do to make a huge difference.
One small business which knows about reducing its environmental impact is Inverurie-based Élan Hair Design.
The firm can claim to be the UK’s most eco-friendly hair salon after it managed to cut its carbon emissions by 95%, reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 94% and cut water consumption by 68% as a result of an innovative environmental programme involving a refurbishment of its premises and the introduction of several green working practices.
Salon coordinator, Lauren Milton, oversees the daily waste management processes in place at Elan and as part of Recycle Week, gives her top tips on how businesses and home-owners can make a difference to the environment:
Segregate waste – having separate bins for different categories of waste, i.e. paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, food etc, ensures that you maximise recycling as well as helping to identify new areas of waste minimisation as you may spot something which you could use again at a later date.
Weigh your waste – weighing and recording each category of segregated waste allows you to see exactly how much of each you produce, allowing you to think of ways of cutting back and effectively reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Re-use whatever you can – plastic water bottles, plastic food boxes, jam jars, scrap paper, these are all things that can be used time and time again. At the salon, our team sterilises spray bottles which are then used again for water when providing high quality cuts and styles to our clients.
Consider composting – at Élan, we send our customers shorn hair clippings along with food waste and other biodegradable waste to be used as soil improver on farmers’ fields in the local area. This brings a benefit to the farmer and has also played a major role in the salon reducing the amount of waste it sends to landfill.
Work with others – teamwork and collaboration is key in almost every walk of life and it’s no different when it comes to recycling. Taking advice from others can help. At Élan, we work closely with local firms Keenan Recycling and One Stop Waste Solutions. In addition, we have worked closely with The Carbon Trust and The Energy Saving Trust to develop our environmental management plan – this has allowed us to remain focussed on our mission to reduce our carbon footprint.
Élan Hair Design was established in 1971 and offers full hairdressing and beauty services to an established client-based across the North-East of Scotland and beyond.
The business has won 25 business awards as a result of its environmental achievements, which is remarkable given the energy intensive nature of the hairdressing industry.