SAN FRANCISCO -- The recession has left Lisa Gautier with an abundance of hair -- 18,000 pounds, to be exact.

She didn't grow it herself. Mrs. Gautier runs Matter of Trust, a San Francisco nonprofit that recycles human hair scraps into small mats that can be used to clean up oil spills. Human hair is naturally cut out for the job because the strands have lots of nooks and crannies that make it easy for oil to cling to.

But...