Barber banned from taking home hair clippings for compost

A hairdresser has been banned from collecting his clients’ lopped-off locks to put on his compost heap.

Jeff Stone had enjoyed this organic and somewhat unusual perk of his job for around 40 years until it became classified as trade waste.

Like other shopkeepers, Stone, who has a salon in Blackburn, will now have to pay £100 for trade waste sacks to be collected from outside his shop as a result of government recycling guidelines.

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Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Stone said: “Every authority on environmental matters recognises human hair is a fantastic compostable material. It is very biodegradable.”

Stone also said he had been asked not to take home the newspapers he buys for customers because they are purchased with cash from the till.