NewsPinellas County

Actions

Inspired by no-straw movement, salon becomes ocean-friendly and virtually waste-free

Posted at 6:15 PM, May 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-10 19:42:17-04

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. — We’ve all heard about restaurants going straw-free. Now a Clearwater Beach salon is taking “ocean-friendly” to a new level.

Lori Fudens is the co-owner of Sharmaines Salon and Day Spa in Clearwater Beach.

Florida bill to stop plastic straw bans passes House and Senate, heading to governor's desk

She says when the restaurants started going ocean-friendly they started researching how to join in.

"We’ve taken it way beyond no straws," said Fudens.

The salon and spa no longer uses plastic, and they produce virtually no waste.

They save foils, rubber gloves, and leftover product and chemicals and send them to a company called "Green Circle" that recycles or disposes of them.

"A lot of color and bleaches and chemicals get put into our water system that should be disposed of properly," said Fudens.

And what they do will all that human hair is the best part.

"Your hair can get oily right, so your hair absorbs oil," said Fudens.

She says the hair is made into a product used to soak up oil spills in the ocean.

Fudens says after becoming the first Ocean Allied and Green Circle Salon in the Tampa Bay Area, she hopes other businesses follow suit.

"There are businesses that are creating too many toxins that are going back into our system and it needs to be removed and disposed of properly," said Fudens.