Student Pitch to Use Hair Cuttings to Aid Oil Spill Clean-Ups Wins Big Bid

Huntingdon hairdressing student Sophie Richardson has won this year’s Cambridge Regional College (CRC) Big Bid competition with her innovative idea ‘Hair to Help’. The initiative aims to aid oil spill response efforts by collecting hair cuttings from salons, including CRC’s on-site Vitality salons in Cambridge and Huntingdon, and sending them on to charities dedicated to oil spill clean-up.

The Big Bid is a cross-college competition promoting entrepreneurial skills alongside presentation and communication skills and this year’s theme was around the environment. Ideas were put forward across the college and those shortlisted to the final presented their ideas in front of a panel, Dragon’s Den style, with the winning idea carried forward and put into action. Other finalists in this year’s competition included recycling bins for disposable vapes and collecting sports clothing from college leavers for future use. All shortlisted ideas will be implemented in some form.

Human hair’s unique absorbent structure makes it highly effective in reducing the spread of oil during spills, significantly aiding the clean-up process. Sophie’s project not only addresses environmental recovery but also reduces hair waste sent to landfills, cutting costs and promoting sustainability.

Talking of the win, Sophie said: “It was such a shock to be named the Big Bid winner, but I’m delighted to have won. I was unsure whether to enter, but I’m glad I did – and this project will go some way to helping the environment recover after ecological crises.”

Deputy Principal Corrin Hoyes praised the finalists for their passion and thorough research. “The brief was to come up with a product, concept or campaign to raise awareness and address some of the 21st century’s biggest challenges in relation to the environment and sustainability. Students were encouraged to focus on their vocational area of study to showcase their developing knowledge and skills.

“All the finalists did a fantastic job of sharing their ideas and we are taking forward a number of them.  Judges praised the students for the way they had researched their ideas and the passion and enthusiasm they brought to the task. Sophie’s idea stood out for its innovation and impact; her pitch was to work with an external company who use waste hair to create products used in removing oil pollution in the sea.”