The Orange County Register

Walking around Disneyland’s Circle D Corral ranch, Jared Blumenfeld was in awe.

A regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, Blumenfeld went inside the behind-the-scenes barn where Disney houses animals including horses, bent down to inspect a container, and with his right hand fished out clumps of stringy hair.

A Disney employee told the U.S. official that after every grooming, the hairs that naturally fall off of the horse is collected then donated to Matter of Trust, a nonprofit specializing in helping mop up oil spills in the ocean; the thick hair helps soak up the oil.

“Here, at Disneyland, everything is recycled down to their horses' hair,” Blumenfeld quipped while holding up a clump of black hair with his hand.

On Tuesday, the EPA awarded the Disneyland Resort the 2014 Food Recovery Challenge award for its zero-waste efforts and food recovery. Disneyland is the first theme park to receive the award.

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