Group hopes recycled hotel soap helps save lives worldwide

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150410/us--saving_soap-40bb34d466.html

Apr 10, 9:45 AM (ET)

By BRIAN SKOLOFF

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Shawn Seipler is on a mission to save lives with soap.

It began about seven years ago as a tiny operation with a few friends and family in a single-car garage in Orlando, Florida, where they used meat grinders, potato peelers and cookers to recycle used soap into fresh bars.

The nonprofit initiative, now called Clean the World, has since grown to include industrial recycling facilities in Las Vegas, Orlando and Hong Kong, cities where hotels are plentiful and used bars of soap can be gathered easily by the thousands.

A frequent traveler as a tech company employee, Seipler had a thought one night at a Minneapolis hotel.

FULL story at link.



In this March 20, 2015, photo, Jabir Hennix, right, and Sia Leleua grind up used bars of soap at Clean the World in Las Vegas. The non-profit initiative recycles soap from hotels to distribute in developing countries. (AP Photo/John Locher)

[merrily]

1. Nice I emailed the link to the news story to a couple of travel writers I know.

They semi-hoard all those little items in their ship and hotel quarters. They use them and also give them away to others because they hate to waste them, for environmental reasons.

Maybe this story will inspire them in some way and they can inspire others through their writing and their contacts within the industry.

[Adrahil]

2. I wish I had thought of that....

I always felt that way about the the toiletries in hotels, especially the nicer hotels where they give you a fresh nearly full sized soap bar every day. It's a great idea.

I HAVE taken to storing my first days soap in a soap holder, and taking the new soap and shampoo they bring each day home with me, where I donate it to a local homeless shelter.

[yeoman6987]

3. Using used bars of soap doesn't sound healthy

How do they ensure the soap is disease free?

[Adrahil]

4. I would assume there is some kind of purification process. n/t

Liquify it, boil it, and evaporate it into new bars.

[Phentex]

6. Here's a link showing the process...

http://www.globalsoap.org/our-work/our-process/

It's from the Global Soap Project but they merged with Clean the World.

[Phentex]

5. My son volunteered with the Global Soap Project and now I see they have merged with Clean the World

http://www.globalsoap.org/

It's a very worthwhile organization and it's great that the two groups have come together.