Used Condom Hair Bands: China Takes Recycling Too Far

why in the world would some country be that ignorant on using used condoms, the risks for std's are they trying to spread the std's in a different way and infect their whole country. Not only will girls be using them but guys will also too! Plus the lil kids that will get their hands on them and chew on them. OMG this is a epidemic waiting to happen.

WHERE IN THE HELL ARE THEY GETTING USED CONDOMS?

Oh man! Wow. I'll have to echo the previous comment: Where are they getting used condoms??

Oh my goodness! It really makes me think twice about where I put my hairbands. No more holding them in my mouth while I tie back my pony-tail, the counter will be my new holder. Thank you for informing us of this issue.

Ewww!!!!

I've seen the news story spreading over the blogosphere. It really doesn't seem practical to get used ones, does it? I mean you would have to set up collection centers, process each individual condom presumably by washing it out, slicing it into little round rubber bands, which are then wrapped with the yarn. Does someone fish the "raw material" from the garbage cans, or do people bring them in for recycling?

Doesn't it make a little more sense to use new ones, perhaps outdated, rejected lots, unsold, defective, etc. This eliminates the whole post-use processing part of the operation, while possibly still getting the condoms for almost nothing. Of course it could just be an urband legend or marketing trick.

OMG!!!!! Wow! Ok, so I will never think of condoms in the same way. Do you think that they sterilized them before recycling them into hair ties? Probably not. I don't think I will be buying them just to save money on these 3 cent formally used rain coats.

This is an idiotic post, I think. Why the hell would they use used comdoms? That make NO sense.

Don't post crap stories!!!

Ok, thats really nasty. How well was this researched? It doesn't sound true to me. Regardless, even if it is true, you can't get STD's that way, the virus would die much much sooner than that, but there would still be bacteria in the condom, so it could cause other types of infections. I can't believe anyone would do that. I agree with another coment on here, why don't they use unused condoms that expired instead?

Yeah, right. Surely the process of recycling them kils off bacteria. Considering HIV can't stay alive on a toilet seat, I'd be staggered if it could survive being heated up... Doesn't stop the concept being grim.

Wow. This sounds SO FAKE.

1. As people have said -- where are they getting the condoms? It would cost a lot more $$$ to collect them than to use other materials (or outdated condoms, as someone said.

2. It would cost a lot more $$$ to PROCESS the rubber. I could maybe see this happening IF they just melted the rubber down. But cutting, rolling, and wrapping thin flat plastic into a band?!

3. The fact that this article outright says that customers could get HIV from these things flat-out proves that the article is BS. You can't get viruses from something like that -- the virus would already be dead. Bacteria, maybe. But HIV? NO.

People! Let's donate whoever can whatever can!..........

For the sake of poor Chinese people!

This is likely part of the the same spin that is trying to keep the bucks on the continent like the lead paint, melamine dog food etc.

We have all heard it before...it used to be exclusive to sabotaging each other in NA but now it is global...

When I grew up one gum company would try to increase market share by sending out urban myths...like Bazooka Bubble Gum uses spider eggs to get the bigger bubbles...of Yuk I will never buy that again ....give me 'Riggleys or what ever that only uses the healthy stuff....you get the idea...

Truth is stranger than fiction but not stranger than a good spin doctor....probably the same ones who protect Bush, OJ and all the other miscreants with money.

Just like the others here, I wonder where do they get the used condoms from? What kind of strange people are donating thier used condoms? Are the manufacturers testing them before use? I'm sure that would increase the cost of those nasty-bands. oh man, so wrong.

Are hair bands really so expensive in the first place that people need to cut costs by using used condoms? I would not want to have the job of making those.

I've lived in China for 4 years and I speak Chinese well enough to have heard and understood this report on Chinese television. This story is true, has been verified by several agencies, and is "under investigation" here in China.

A couple of other points need to be addressed. First, the obvious idea that it would cost more to gather the condoms and recycle them than one would earn by selling the finished product. Likely, this is not exactly true: when Westerners think of "recycling" they think of a long involved process by which disease is eliminated and the final product does not resemble whatever you began with. In China, cutting corners is a national pastime, and it is quite possible that every shortcut has been taken in the production of these things in order to save a few cents. Case in point: I used to smoke the cheapest menthol cigarettes in town. Then a couple of times, I came across my brand, but completely fake (you could tell by examining the printing on the package, and the taste was horrid). Now, these cigarettes are so cheap that it would seem ridiculous to fake them, because the profit would be literally mere cents. However, when one doesn't care AT ALL about quality, there is a decent amount of money to be made.

Second, I must reiterate that the Chinese national pastime is making money and cutting corners. No matter what the consequences. I would like to direct your attention to the recent rash of lead-painted toys and so on, but those are not my primary examples because those are exports. Nay, they also do this kind of thing to their own people. I have consumed fake beer containing formaldehyde, I was here when dozens of babies died in the south because someone was producing and selling fake dried milk formula that consisted of potato flour, and in my city recently, there was a bug hullabaloo over a couple of dumpling restaurants which were incorporating shredded CARDBOARD into the filling for their dumplings in order to save on meat.

I find it hard NOT to believe most of the horrible things I read about China.

So, after reading this story and leaving my other comment, I decided to inspect some similar hair bands that I own.

There is a condom inside my hair band. You can see pictures I made of the hair band-cutting process here: http://iragerobbins.multiply.com/photos/album/1/Condom_Hairband

It is true. For whatever reasons, no matter how ridiculous, it is true.

Are these elastics sold in Canada? This is sooooooo gross!

i call BS. it's too bad some people waste their time writing crap articles just to scare people or gross them out.

oh, and a nice shout to rage robbins - don't generalize the Chinese like that. you get what you pay for - it's too bad that common sense isn't so common.

wow,china makes fakes for everything? fake cigarettes and beer ?! that's hurt.. are they that cheap?

what the blinkin! grossss China people should just let the hair be free, well down. how can any dumb girl put that in there hair. was alil shocked seein this site.

actually HIV virus dies in contact with AIR so this risk isnt given! :/

those chinese people are crazy!!!

this is why I am bald.

and I don't even want to hear about USED TAMPONS! What next China????

Strawberry tea anyone? GROSS

I totally agree with you. It would be totally cheaper to just get the rejects or expired batches from the manufacturers.

If I was the manufacturer of the hairband, I'd get them from the condom manufacturer. They must have so many rejected or expired lots that they'd be happy so thankful that someone would want to buy them.

Some people just think the worst of everything...

splooge, HIV, slimy man deposits, USED, diseased.

there we go, all key words people just read and post some 'ewwwww... GROSSSSS' comment.

Where do you get used condoms everyone asks? They don't, not practical, there isn't a recycle bin for condoms in china, right next to glass and plastics, or any where else in the world.

It's unused condoms they use, as some have speculated, likely from a manufacturer who are about to dump out their rubber than didn't make the pass.

I was wondering where that damned herpes came from.

I just added this article to Digg.com

OK, China cut corners regarding manufacturing and isn't the most environmentally friendly country. I wouldn't buy herbs from China and I check for lead and other nasty ingredients in Chinese products before purchasing. However, if we don't panic and use some deductive reasoning we can come to some reasonable conclusions that actually make sense. Here is the most likely scenario. China's huge population automatically calls for the manufacturing of a "gazilion" condoms. Add to that the fact that Chinese couples are only allowed to have one child, therefore, increasing condom use among men for birth control practices. People who work in manufacturing are very well aware of their quality control departments. Since the Chinese governement is very strict with the one child per couple law, we can probably bet that any condon that doesn't pass the 100% perfection test is tossed aside. Instead of throwing these millions of condoms in the garbage, they are recycled into hair bands. Most westerners think of recycling as something being made from a used product. If this was true with used condoms, YUK! Recycling also includes rejects, seconds and any product that doesn't make the grade. The thought of recycling trucks going to homes in China to pick up used condoms is just not practical and very costly. The thought of having Chinese people dropping off their used condoms at recycling plants is also stretching (no pun intended here). The practical scenario is to pull the defected condoms off the factory line and use the material for something else. There are several Chinese practices that I don't agree with but I also believe we need to seek truth in order to be able to competently trade with China or any other country.
I would want absolute proof of this story and then the USA can take action. I haven't seen any proof or any USA government action.

Check it out on snopes.com. It is very true!!!

this is sooo fake

Exactly, I don't thing these news are true. Maybe it's just a way to bad mouth the Chinese industries. I mean, just look, if they'd buy new condoms or rejected ones, it would be much easier since they'd go directly to the supplier. It would actually entail them much cost to go around town collecting USED ones. What? They'd go knocking around for used condoms? or look for them in the trash? Come on... do they have a separate recylce bin for condoms?? That's absurd, and very costly on the producer's part.

what is the big fasanation with these things ?
how do you make them ?
what use do you get out of them ?

I keep reading about these and have searched far and wide and have yet to find any proof of the "used" part of this story. Everything that I find states that these are below spec condoms that fail the QC checks. If that is the case, then what is he big deal.

HIV dies once it has contacts with air.

ok for those of you that seem to blow this issue out of the water open you eyes you must not have kids who are at risk. and when i say at risk i mean if you have a daughter would you want her to put a condom on her head and go off to school? seriously used or not its the factor thats not right at all. and no i dont beleive this is to discriminate againt the china people who cares there putting rubbers in our kids heads is that ok no not at all.there are to many factor to back this story so those of you that want to be nieve whatever let your child be subjected to filth there is enough in this world without this

i live in china OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. Actually i buy those hangbands every day and it's great ! (AND it's smell good)

I think this is a great idea
we should figure out new a nd great ways to recycle like this
they actually gather them from the sewage plants ( which before they were just throwing them out) now china would say "keep flushing"
great idea!
and for the std thing
Im sure that just from the used condoms being in the raw sewage for days would be enough to kill any std virus, i would be more concerned with bacterial born problems from the raw sewage than the std thing
but either way
great idea!!

W.T.F ?????

urm

are they piking these things out the rubbish or sum shizz

thats dirty man

yukky

yes the chinese cut corners i am sure they do...

but this doesn't seem like cutting corners to me... it seems like a hell of a lot of extra work to get a hold of used condoms.

people are so discrete when they dispose of their condoms. it's either flushed down the toilet or wrapped up in tonnes of toilet paper and thrown in the dustbin.

rather than buy latex for super cheap, you would have to hire a hundred people to rummage through landfills to find used condoms. does that seem like cutting corners to anyone?

more realistically they come from surplus condom factories ... rubbers that didn't make the QC mark. condoms also have a shelf life/expiry.... they most probably use those.

the AIDS virus and other STDs couldn't possibly survive in the open as such.

what's the big deal.

To those people who believed that 'used' condoms are collected for recycling; how GULLIBLE are you?!

Practice a little common sense here. Obviously they'd just be recycling unused defective condoms.

It still surprises me how stupid the general population is, though it shouldn't by now.

eew friki ew! condoms as hair bands? holy shit crap! I have never heard anything like it before. whatever FUCKING SICKO DID THIS... GO TO HELL!

This is disgusting. What kind of sick mind does the inventor of this have? I mean like I always chew my hairbands. Ughh it will never be the same for me. Eew! friki eww!

hey im chinese and i bought loads of them but after cutting nearly all of them up thank goodness they're not made of that yuck! ewwww..

I have a few hairties that look exactly like those, and i cut open a few of them just out of curiosity. The second one i cut open looked exactly like the dotted one in the third photo, while the others had plain clear rubber bands in them.

Regardless of whether they are used or not, the concept still disgusts me.

COOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL;]