Hotels Challenged With Recycling Soaps

Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Home2 Suites by Hilton are challenging hotel owners and employees to collect the bars of soap left behind by guests to be recycled into 1 million bars of new soap by Global Handwashing Day on Oct. 15, 2019, according to an article on the Hilton website.

The Clean the World Foundation will distribute the recycled soap to communities in need in 127 countries.

According to earlier reports, hotels that partner with Clean The World (CTW) pay the company 50 cents per room per month to have soaps recycled. CTW provides bins, pickup, delivery, shipping and training to the housekeeping staff.

They also work with hotels to recycle those partially used shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles. If the bottles are more than three-quarters full, they are cleaned and included in hygiene kits along with toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, and other items, then sent to homeless shelters around the world. Empty bottles get recycled.

In 2016-2017, Clean The World sent out 400,000 hygiene kits and made more than 7 million bars of soap, including half a million bars for Haiti and the Bahamas after Hurricane Matthew.

Hilton has committed to recycling 1 million bars of soap by Global Handwashing Day 2019.

The Clean the World Challenge is part of Travel with Purpose, Hilton’s corporate responsibility initiative. This effort supports Hilton’s goal to send zero soap to landfills by 2030.