Anne Veck Investigates: how to reduce colour waste?

I don't think you need me to explain why chemical waste is a problem. So straight to the point, here are some ideas for tackling the problem that all of us can choose from.

1. Record how much colour you dispose of daily by collecting it in a bucket. Keep a tally and aim to reduce the amount, weekly and work towards zero colour waste and reduce costs and pollution ! Of course there are apps available to help too, at a very reasonable cost, see below.

2. Dispose of colour waste (which may be hazardous waste depending on what products you are using) as safely as possible. Try not to dilute it with water and wash it down the drain which is of course far less damaging if your colour is organic and biodegradable. (Have you done your COSHH risk assessment?)

3. Make sure that other unsuitable materials including pieces of plastic, contaminated salon towels, contaminated food packages, wax strips, wet tissues, wipes, cotton buds, PPE and any other small sticky items, are not also flushed down the sink or loo into the drains and, ultimately, the seas.

Green Salon Collective can help with all the above with their “General Waste to Energy” scheme.

Now for the tech solutions...

Instead of recording your colour waste yourselves, use an app. These aim to eliminate colour waste by helping you mix the optimum amount of colour each time. Try VISH or Smartmix by Precision Colour Ltd. VISH tell us that the average salon wastes up to 40% of its colour and that by using VISH this can be reduced to 8% or less.

YUV is designed for pro colourists to prepare bespoke colour combinations but they also claim it will reduce waste by up to 35%. Our sustainable friends Jack and the Wolfe swear by it! And Ecoheads have introduced The Ping, both energy efficient and colour saving.

So, however you do it, monitor and manage your product usage. Don’t order retail products you won’t sell! Cut down on waste, reduce your costs! Get a life! (Ed's comment: did you really say that Anne?)
And finally, a simple but important thing to do is squeeze the last drop of colour from the tube! D'oh!

Thanks for reading! And remember, the 3 Rs: Reduce, re-use, recycle, in that order. The less waste the better. Sustainability saves you money because you use and buy less. For more sustainable hairdressing tips check out Salon RE:Source or Freelance RE:Source.