Overview
- Conservation groups have placed about twenty hair-filled filters along Xochimilco’s canals and are testing units on trajineras to keep cleaning during daily boat runs.
- Each device uses roughly one kilogram of human hair to trap oils, fats, hydrocarbons and some heavy metals, with reported capacity up to five times its weight in pollutants.
- Teams pull the filters after about two months and apply bacteria to break down the captured oils so the hair can be reused or mixed into soil without leaving residues.
- A network of more than 30 barber shops and salons across Mexico supplies the material by collecting about two kilos of hair per month, adding up to 202 kilos in 2025.
- Axolotl numbers in the canals have dropped to near zero due to heavy contamination, and organizers say hair filters offer local relief but carry handling risks and do not replace broader pollution controls.