From the bathroom of your much-loved holiday home to the luxe hotel you stayed in last week – have you ever wondered what happens to those little bars of soap that you leave behind after you check out?
A recent video posted to Insider’s YouTube account, ‘How used hotel soap gets recycled into brand new bars’ details the process from the collection of bars all the way through remanufacturing and the final products.
The two leading companies recycling soap are Clean The World and Unisoap.
Clean The World is a company based in the United States. It was started in a one-car garage but now operates a fully industrial facility that cleans soap from up to 1.4 million hotel rooms worldwide.
Thanks to their efforts, more than 73 million bars of recycled soap have been distributed to countries such as Ghana, The Philippines, and Bangladesh, parts of which don’t have access to basic services such as running water.
Many hotel chains such as IHG and Marriott are looking to reduce their usage of individually wrapped hygiene products. Until that is a worldwide initiative though, French company Unisoap also provides its services remanufacturing used soap. With the help of machines designed specifically by this company, Unisoap is able to provide bars to the homeless and children of developing countries every year.
Do you take the toiletries provided when you stay in hotels? Or do you prefer to pack your own? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: How to make your hotel room healthier
