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WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- The stockpile of hair is getting larger and larger at Renaissance Hair Studio.

For weeks the Winston-Salem salon has been collecting hair to send to the Gulf in hopes of helping solve the oil spill problem, even though BP has no plans to use the hair.

"If you have a resource that is basically free to utilize and you're not utilizing it, it's ridiculous," said Marybeth Evans, co-owner of the salon.

Right now, BP is using a plastic boom that they say is better for the Gulf Coast oil spill. It's a decision people at some salons can't understand.

"It bothers me so much because the resources are there," said co-owner Diana Mitchell. "They have over 19 warehouses that are donated and over 450,000 pounds of hair that's coming in every few days."

The Hair-for-Oil effort was started by Matter of Trust, a non-profit organization based in California. The group called on salons and pet groomers across the country to collect human and pet hair. The hair is then stuffed into tubes of women's hosiery to create booms that soak up oil. The method was used in the Exxon-Valdez spill but BP officials say it won't be used in this one.

"Obviously what they are doing isn't working and you see the pictures of the birds dying and the marshes covered in oil and if they could take this hair and use it to help clean that up; I don't understand it. They have warehouses full of it just waiting to go," said Evans.

Matter of Trust is encouraging salons across the country to continue to stockpile hair in hopes that BP leaders will soon change their minds.

"We'll have our hair stored and if it ends up going to a landfill at some other time, at least it will be here ready to go if they need it," said Evans.