(Luận văn thạc sĩ) waste and waste management in nail salon

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY NGHIEM THI TRANG WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NAIL SALON IN AUSTRALIA, CASE STUDIES IN ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA BACHEL

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

NGHIEM THI TRANG

WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NAIL SALON

IN AUSTRALIA, CASE STUDIES IN ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

BACHELOR THESIS

Study mode : Full time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : International Program Office

Batch : 2013-2017

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to say thanks to all AEP lecturers and officers for supporting me during the time I was studying in Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry and also for helping me to get the great opportunity to come to Australia to complete my final thesis

I would love to express my profound gratitude to Mr Lai Trong Tinh (MA), who has supported me by giving suggestion and critic of the building that contributed the development of my ideas throughout the project and many techniques, methods used in the field of the environment

I sincerely thanks to Ms Ly Thi Thuy Duong (MA) for her advices,

assistance, sharing experiences before and after I went to Australia, helping me to understand and complete the thesis

I am also thankful to my employer and colleagues … They have been very kindly in providing me with constructive feedback, experiences and suggestions for

my report and helping me to successfully complete my reports

I also want to give many thanks to my family for providing me emotion, encouragement, physical and financial support Finally, I would love to thank all those other persons who helped me in completing this report Because of my lack knowledge, the mistake is inevitable, I am very grateful if I receive the comments and opinions from teachers and others to contribute my report

Sincerely,

Nghiem Thi Trang

PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale

Nowadays, along the

development of socio-economics,

people really focus on their

appearance such as outfit, body,

hairstyle, skin and even nails Base

on the survey conducted by the

author on group of 50 customers in

4 researched nail salons, there are

up to 70 percent of Australian

woman coming to nail salons will

get the nails done for every 2 weeks

Therefore, the number of spa, salon is increasing significantly in Australia Like the United States, Australia provides full nail services in salons There are 3,045 nail and waxing salons in the nation, as indicated by IBIS World Nail salons

in Australia have accomplished relentless development over a large portion of the previous five years Industry income has been bolstered by rising interest of new services such as growing in the female population (the essential customers) Personal Waxing and Nail Salons Market Research Report anticipates that industry income should increment by an annualized 1.3% over the five years through 2015-

16, to reach $541.2 million (Sree, 2016)

Unlike United State, Australia government does not require nail technician to

Figure 1 Nail art

just need the business registration to be opened and not being under the rigid management from government, according to nail salon owner interview by the author Moreover, the nail technicians do not have enough knowledge and awareness of waste management that what may lead the nail salons in Australia to unsustainable due to non-control of waste and water usage

According to the previous scientific reports, most of the topics just focused on the effects of nail salon, especially nail products on human health, there is very few reports of nail salon waste and they are mainly conducted in the U.S but not in Australia Therefore, the author chooses to conduct this thesis to discuss both view

of actual situation and recommendations for waste management for the better Australian nail salons

1.2 Research objectives

- Conduct the data of nail salon waste and water usage in South Australia

- Investigate waste management in nail salon

- Assess the worker awareness of waste and waste management

1.3 Research questions

- What are the situation of nail salon business in South Australia in terms of

salon scale, number of customers, number of workers and their income?

- What are the different types of wastes which are discharged from nail salon?

- How much are the average of water usage and waste water in nail salon

daily?

- How are the waste and waste water classified and treated in nail salon?

- What are the recommendations for better waste management and water usage

management in nail salon?

1.4 Limitations

- One of the special characteristics of nail industry is the massive gap in the number of customer between winter and summer Therefore, the author needs to take long time to collect the data from all seasons (more than one year) in order for the date to be the most reliable and comparative

- To be close to the customers as well as the workers, the author need to take part in working in nail salon, so the surveys conducted were relatively small

- To find out the differences of customer demand in different area which are metropolitan and regional area, the author need to travel quite long distance so the transportation was also a disadvantage

PART II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Nail salon industry introduction

Nail salons have become very popular as a common feature of towns, cities, neighborhoods and shopping centers In 2013, there were 48900 nail salons having opened and in 2017, that number increased to 56300 and $8.7 billion was spent to nail salon services in United States (Mazareanu, 2019) A nail salon is a place that provides nail beautification services for men and women Nail salons offer variety choices for nail care or nail art This includes manicure, pedicure, acrylic, polish, etc Some nail salons are offering one-stop beauty services In addition to nail services, these one-stop nail salons may include eyelash extension, facial treatments, waxing, and skin care (Quach, Nguyen, Doan-Billings, Okahara, Fan, Reynolds, 2008) Any nail treatment procedure includes a number of steps, and applications of a wide range of products as follows:

- A manicure is a beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands which is

performed at home or in a nail salon A manicure steps include filing and shaping the free edge, pushing and clipping (with a cuticle pusher and cuticle nippers) with

various liquids, massage of the hand, and the application of fingernail polish (Esla,

2009) The primary purpose of a manicure is to maintain the hand’s overall health When the same techniques are applied to the toenails and feet, the treatment is called a pedicure

(Source: Best nail salon stock) Figure 2 Manicure service

(Source: ESPN Front Row) Figure 3 Pedicure service

- Polish are normal painting to make nail color as a basic nail art In the

similar texture to polish, the nails are put under the UV light, the treatment are

called shellac

- Sns/acrylic are powder color and used more technique and machine (drill) to

file nail They are not only nail art but also make the nails stronger and harder to avoid broken nails and last longer than polish and shellac So sns and acrylic

become more popular now

- To remove the hair, nail salon also offer a service called waxing which is

divided by normal wax and hard wax Normal wax is taken by using wax papers and warm gel applied on skin and quickly jerks off Hard wax is just applied

directly on skin and peels off

Nail services are performed by nail salon workers, known as nail technicians There are over 439,000 nail techs currently working in the nail salon industry in the United States (Brandon, 2018) 80 percent of nail salon workers are females, and mostly aged 25 to 44, generally with no more than a high-school education They are mainly from Asian-American communities, especially Vietnamese refugees and Chinese diasporas, roughly eight in 10 workers are paid as low-wage, meaning they earn less than $13.46 an hour A full-time or part-time worker might take home just

$9 or $10 per hour, respectively, which could be as low as $30 or $40 a day (Michell, 2018) The average nail tech in the United States treats 20 customers per week About 40% of those clients will make regular bookings, while another 25% create standing appointments for services which cost in the range of $20-$50

(Brandon, 2018)

2.2 Impacts of nail salon

2.2.1 Impacts on human health

Infectious diseases/ skin diseases;

One thing available at nail salons that's not posted on any service menu is a contagious skin disease The infectious diseases or skin diseases are normally found out on customer as following (Sarah, 2016):

(Source: DermNet NZ) Figure 4 Nail fold infection

(Source: American Osteopathic College of Dermatology) Figure 5 Nail fold infection

- Nail fold infection: all the clipping, filing, cuticle pushing and trimming

which are indispensable steps that nail technicians do during a manicure or pedicure can damage the nails and even lead to skin lesions Paronychia - a bacterial infection of the cuticle skin - is the most common infection caused by skin lesions Unfortunately, customers those start having manicure which makes the cuticle skin growing faster and messier so they need trimming them continuously This problem causes their skin worse and worse and leading to nail fold infection

(Source: Medicine Net) Figure 6 Follicular infection

(Source: Onehealth) Figure 7 Follicular infection

- Follicular infection: pedicure foot spa tubs may cause another health risk: a

bacterial infection effected by nontuberculous mycobacteria While the customer got a skin wound and soak their feet into a footbath, they may be at risk of having mycobacteria enter the bloodstream and infect the follicles To avoid having this happen, experts say it’s best not to shave the legs right before getting a pedicure However, Australian women like waxing before having pedicure what make they feel cleaner than doing the contrast and they do not want to break that habit

(Source: Nails Magazine) Figure 8 Contact dermatitis

- Contact dermatitis: acrylic nails, nail glue, and nail polish can cause allergic

contact dermatitis

(Source: Nail Pro) Figure 9 Warts

- Warts: plantar warts can also develop on the skin following a trip to the nail

salon Similar to follicular infections development; plantar warts grow in warm, moist environments Cuts in the skin can start causing warts

Cancer/Aging

(Source: Komonews) Figure 10 UV light

The last step on the manicure or pedicure services is often seating in front of the UV light But while the UV light might help dry the nails after painting, it may cause serious consequences Although long-term research is needed, dermatologists

say UV lights may put users at risk of developing skin cancer or tumors Areas of skin exposed to UV light are also susceptible to aging

Hazardous chemicals influent worker health

(Source: Thenewdaily) Figure 11 Three top chemicals in nail salon

It is well-known that nail salon products contain toxic chemicals Three top of the chemicals in many nail products are toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) A survey conducted by Environmental Working Group in 2005 found eight brands of nail products contained formaldehyde, five contained formaldehyde resin, 37 contained toluene, and 89 contained dibutyl phthalate (Alexandra & Phillip, 2007)

- Toluene is a clear colorless liquid that acts as a solvent It is found in many

nail products such as nail polish, nail glue; it helps suspend the pigment throughout the liquid and helps form the smooth finishing nail Toluene may cause many effects on human health such as dry or cracked skin; headaches, dizziness, and numbness; irritated eyes, nose, throat, and lungs; damage to liver and kidneys; and

harm to unborn children during pregnancy

- Formaldehyde is a chemical usually used in resins and as a preservative It

is found in some nail products as a nail hardener and to help create a smooth finish The worker contacting with formaldehyde for a long time may get the serious consequences such as difficulty breathing, including coughing, asthma-like attacks, and wheezing; allergic reactions; irritated eyes, skin, and throat Formaldehyde can

cause cancer

- Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a chemical used as a plasticizer In personal care

products it adds flexibility, a moisturizing sheen and helps dissolve other cosmetic ingredients In nail salon, it is usually found in nail polish Dibutyl phthalate may

cause nausea and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and throat

Many other chemicals are found in nail salon also lead to variety serious consequences (U.S Department of Labor) as the following examples:

- Acetone (nail polish remover): headaches; dizziness; and irritated eyes, skin,

and throat

- Acetonitrile (fingernail glue remover): irritated nose and throat; breathing

problems; nausea; vomiting; weakness; and exhaustion

- Butyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover): headaches and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and throat

- Ethyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover, fingernail glue): irritated

skin, nose, mouth, eyes, stomach, and throat; high levels can cause fainting

- Ethyl methacrylate (EMA), (artificial nail liquid): asthma; irritated eyes,

skin, nose, and mouth; difficulty concentrating Exposures while pregnant may affect your child

- Isopropyl acetate (nail polish, nail polish remover): sleepiness, and irritated

eyes, nose, and throat

- Methacrylic acid (nail primer): skin burns and irritated eyes, skin, nose, mouth,

and throat At higher concentrations, this chemical can cause difficulty breathing

- Methyl methacrylate (MMA), (artificial nail products, though banned for

use in many states): asthma; irritated eyes, skin, nose, and mouth; difficulty

concentrating; loss of smell

2.2.2 Impacts on environment

Many of the products used in nail salons contain a variety of chemicals which may harm to people or to the environment if not controlled carefully These products include solvents, hardeners, fragrances, glues, polishes and dry/curing agents The range of health effects could be from mild rashes to very serious conditions, depending on degree and duration of exposures (Ted, 2014) Moreover, the air pollution also can be caused by the nail salon products and services

- The products contain solvents, which can release volatile organic compounds (VOC) and some toxic air pollutants Chemicals in these substances can also react in the air to form ground level ozone (smog), which has been leaded to many respiratory effects

- Some nail salon products may also contain toxic air pollutants While federal, state, local, and Tribal regulations limit the amount of emissions from nail salons, dangerous releases of VOC and toxic air pollutants can occur if a nail salon is not in compliance with regulations

- Filing artificial nails generates particle pollution (dust) which may contain glues, benzoyl peroxide, silica, and methacrylate polymers

2.3 Waste classification in Australia

According to the 4waste Removal-A waste collection company outsourced by Australian Government, waste can be classified into 5 types which include liquid, solid, organic waste, recyclable rubbish and hazardous waste For more details:

Liquid waste can be found both in households as well as in the industries

This waste may include dirty water, organic liquids, wash water, waste detergents and even rainwater The liquid waste can be classified into point and non-point source waste All manufactured liquid waste is classified as point source waste while natural liquid waste is classified as non-point source waste

Solid rubbish includes a variety of items which can be found in the household

along with commercial and industrial locations Solid rubbish can be classified into the following types:

- Plastic waste consists bags, containers, jars, bottles and many other products

Plastic is not biodegradable, but many types of plastic can be recycled Plastic should not be disposed in the general bin; it should be placed in the recycling bin

- Paper/card waste may include material containers, newspapers, cardboards

and other products which are totally put in recycling bin

- Tins and metals can be found in various forms in the households Most

metals can be recycled These wastes should be considered taking to a scrap yard

- Ceramics and glass can easily be recycled and should be disposed correctly

to the bottles/glass bin

Organic waste is another common household All food waste, garden waste,

manure and rotten meat are classified as organic waste By the time, organic waste will be turned into manure by microorganisms However, this does not mean that they can be disposed anywhere Organic waste in landfills causes the production of methane, so it must never be simply discharged with general waste

Recyclable rubbish includes all waste items that can be converted into

products that can be used again such as bottles, cans, etc

Hazardous waste includes all types of rubbish that are flammable, toxic,

corrosive and reactive These items may be harmful to the human as well as the environment and must be disposed carefully and correctly Therefore, the government recommends having a waste removal company for proper disposal of all hazardous waste

PART III METHODS 3.1 Case study approach

To understand deeply and collect the most reliable data, case study approach is particularly useful and should be applied

Due to the differences of customer’s demands and the differences of customer’s income in the metropolitan area and the regional area, the author was choosing 4 case studies

The first 2 case studies are 2 salons in Adelaide city which are located in Castle Plaza (shopping center) and Hype Park (walking street) Secondly, 2 case studies were approached in Mt Barker town that’s 40 minutes driving away from city

3.2 Data collection

3.2.1 Observation

Besides 4 case studies, the author needs to investigate the general number of nail salon in certain area The observation is an essential and useful method which the author uses to indicates the nail salon scale, the habits of customers and workers

in salon

3.2.2 Survey

The customer survey was carried out in 2 salons in South Australia, 1 salon in Adelaide city and 1 salon Mt Barker where the author works Almost customers coming to nail salons in Australia do have their own familiar salon where they always prefer to come Therefore, the author chose 30 salon’s familiar customers (who never or rarely come to another salon for the nail service) over the group of 40 customers surveyed and 10 customers were chosen randomly

The chosen customers were asking for their frequency of coming to nail salon and which services they prefer to do when coming

3.2.3 Interview

The interviews were conducted to the employers and workers in nail salon The author was interviewing the owner and 10 workers in studied salons The given questions were about what were the wastes that the workers disposed every day, how did they classified and treated the waste and their knowledge about waste management

3.3 Participation

To be close with customers and understand deeply how nail services are and what technicians do, the author has been taken part in working in nail salon for one year The author was working 7 days a week, 3 days in metropolitan area (Adelaide city) and 4 days in regional area (Mt Barker) and able to do all the services in nail salon to assess waste management by experiencing the real work and becoming the real worker

PART IV RESULTS

4.1 Nail salon in South Australia overview

In Australia, nail salons are very popular and are opened almost every suburb not only in metropolitan but also in regional areas They could be easily found 2 to

3 in every shopping center or on the walking street Mostly, nail salons in Australian are owned by immigrants from Asia such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean…where the nail technicians also come from The nail salon worker’s age range from 18 to 40 years old and they might be full time workers such as residents

or part time workers who are mainly students The nail salon working hour is normally from 9 am to 5:30 pm

According to the observation, nail salons can be classified by small salon and big salon Despite of different scale, almost nail salons in Australia provides full products and services such as manicure/pedicure, polish/shellac, sns/acrylic, personal waxing and they are all supplied by the similar material and equipment:

- Gel polish which consists of a mix of an organic polymer and several other components can be from different brand such as CND, DND, DC, OPI… In the beginning, nail salons owners normally supply 300-500 bottles of different colors in each salon and replace the new one whenever any color run out

- Shellac which is similar to polish except it requires the last step of finishing

by UV light was supplied in the same brands and number of gel polish

Figure 13 Dipping powder colors

- Dipping powder color is the new technique which nail technicians called

“sns” and stick on nail by brush-on, gel-based polish Sns can be supplied by SNS, EDS, DC, EC brand…and are normally contained in a pot There might be up to 200-300 different colors in each salon and will be refill when running out

- Acrylic is the old product that’s the combination of a liquid monomer and a powder polymer Usually, each nail salons store about 2-3 kg of acrylic powder

- Acetone is nail color remover which is supplied 20-30 little every month

- Aluminum foil is one of the important materials in nail salon, it is used to remove old shellac, sns, acrylic nail by adding cotton ball with acetone

- The equipment used in nail salon is cuticle pusher, cuticle nippers, nail clippers, buffers, files, drill machine, UV light

- Lotions such as massage cream, cuticle softener, blue sea salt which are needed in manicure and pedicure are stored 8-10 little in salon and refill by every 2 months

- Waxing paper and wax are used in personal waxing

Besides the similarity, the salons are different in term of scale Based on the observation in different salons and interviews conducted with workers, the author