What do hotels do with our used soaps? The answer will surprise you

For lack of space in the suitcase or simply for forgetfulness, we don’t always bother traveling with our soap. The plus is that many hotels provide miniatures right in the bathroom, which can be used as we wish. But what do they do with those partially used mini-soaps once we’re gone?

The soaps are recycled

Thousands of hotels around the world have chosen not to throw away their customers’ used soaps but to entrust them to a recycling company. The latter collects thousands of soaps, which it puts into a machine that will reduce them into very small shavings. in order to get rid of all the hairs, dead skin residues and other things that may have stuck to them.

Then the small chips are soaked in a solution of water and bleach and boiled for 75 minutes to rid them of any harmful bacteria or fungi. The sanitized soap is then fed into another machine which turns the powder into bars.

And if you’re wondering how the combination of fragrances works, Pauline Grume, director of Unisoap (the company that deals with this recycling in France), explained the process to 20 minutes :

“We can absolutely mix them together, even if they are not the same. The only thing that changes are the fragrances, so we did some tests to understand which soaps to mix together so that they have a pleasant scent. »

But where do the recycled soaps end up?

Most recycled soaps they are sent to charities that help disadvantaged people. “2.2 million children die every year in the world from diseases related to lack of hygiene” deplores Pauline Grume. In 2017 alone, Unisoap collected 5 tons of soap! A great initiative that is attracting more and more hoteliers all over the world!

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