Dung Dung (Belgium)

Dung Dung (Belgium)

Dung Dung is a Belgian non-profit organisation that develops waste recovery projects as part of the circular economy.

In 2021/2022, the Eurofins Foundation supported the Hair Recycle project, a circular economy hair recovery project located in Belgium. Hair is collected from hairdressing salons and recycled into products that absorb hydrocarbon, called hair booms or hair mats, addressing the problem of hydrocarbon (oil) pollution.

Globally oil pollution problems are numerous and daily. Currently, oil pollution is usually treated with absorbent socks made of non-biodegradable polypropylene. However, Dung Dung’s hair products can be used as a solution, e.g. to address leakage from an oil tank, in VHU stations for the dismantling of vehicles, for storm basins along highways, in ports and on waterways, and to deal with pollution problems due to flooding.

In the early 2000s, the NGO Matter of Trust began using hair to treat an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, a dozen companies around the world manufacture hair booms and hair mats. Hair Recycle Project is a partner of Matter of Trust.

Partnering with the Solvay Business School and connected to a community of 1,000 hairdressing salons as of the beginning of 2022, Dung Dung collected six tons of hair month for recycling in 2022.

The Eurofins Foundation’ support helped the organisation develop their activity and acquire a weaving loom to manufacture their oil and hydrocarbon absorbent hair-mats.

This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals