Salon metals recycling

Salon metals should not have a 400 year legacy.

Hairdressing foil, colour tubes and product cans contain valuable aluminium. When they are placed in general waste, that material can be lost to landfill or incineration instead of being recycled and used again.

Start recycling salon metals See the energy difference

0%

of UK salons are sending their metals to landfill.

A valuable resource being lost

Most salon metals can have another life.

Before specialist salon recycling became widely available via Green Salon Collective, all salon foils and colour tubes were going to landfill. Now, around 2% are recycled. That means 98% of salon metals are still going to landfill!

Foil and tubes may look like small items individually, but across thousands of salons they quickly become a significant waste stream.

98%

The energy difference

Recycling aluminium uses just 5% of the energy it takes to mine new foils.

Producing aluminium from newly mined material is highly energy intensive. Recycling existing aluminium can use approximately 95% less energy than primary production.

100%

Newly mined aluminium

Mining, refining, processing and transporting new aluminium requires the full energy input.

5%

Recycled aluminium

Existing aluminium is recovered, processed and returned to production using only a fraction of the energy.

Recycled aluminium New aluminium
5%

Recycling aluminium requires around 5% of the energy needed to produce aluminium from newly mined material.

Why virgin aluminium has an impact

The problem begins long before foil reaches the salon.

Aluminium starts with bauxite mining. Extracting and processing that raw material can place pressure on forests, water, energy systems and surrounding ecosystems.

Dense forest representing habitats affected by mining
Water reservoir representing industrial water usage
Industrial facility representing energy intensive production
Bauxite material representing waste created during mining

Hairdressing foil can last over 400 years in landfill

Aluminium does not need to become a permanent waste problem. It can be recycled repeatedly, helping to keep valuable resources in circulation and reducing demand for newly mined material.

What can be recycled?

More than just clean foil.

Salon metals don't need to be cleaned before recycling with Green Salon Collective. They are collected, separated and processed through specialist recycling routes.

Used hairdressing foil ready for recycling
Aluminium

Hairdressing foil

Used foil can be melted, processed into aluminium blocks and returned to manufacturing. Colour residue does not prevent it from being recycled through the correct specialist route.

Collect Melt Recyycle Reuse
Used salon colour tubes ready for recycling
Mixed packaging

Colour tubes

Colour tubes are processed so that their aluminium can be recycled. Please make sure to remove any plastic caps to keep this process simple!

Collect Melt Recycle Reuse
Empty salon product cans ready for specialist recycling
Aerosols

Product cans

Empty product cans are processed through specialist machinery. Any remaining gas is safely released before the metal is separated, melted and returned to use.

Collect Make safe Shred Recycle

Give salon metals another life

Turn everyday salon waste into a resource.

Green Salon Collective makes it simple to separate and recycle used hairdressing foil, colour tubes and other salon metals.

Start recycling hair and metals