What do hotels do with used soap?

Very simple! If the soap and shampoos are used most times the cleaners are told to just throw them out, but if I said that was the only thing they did with it I would be lying! Some hotels send their half-used soaps to companies such as Clean the World. They take the old soap and melt it down to make new bars of soap. The work Clean the World is doing is impressive: In 2016, they made more than 7 million bars of soap and 400,000 hygiene kits. Of these bars of soap, 500,000 went to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and the Bahamas. The company also works with half-used shampoo, body wash, and conditioner bottles. These items are closely inspected (bottles must be 3/4 full), emptier bottles are recycled, and then they are included in the hygiene kits — which also include toothbrushes, toothpaste, and hand sanitizer — before being distributed to homeless shelters all over the globe. You can find Clean the World's warehouses in India, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Orlando, and Montreal.

Hope this answers your question! -OP out!

*Edit* 6/29/2020—-> Thank you everyone for the positive suppoort. Thank you! Make sure to stay safe and have a wonderful day.

*Edit* 7/16/2020 Well I've put off making too many edits or I would have done one every day to say thank you for the support. So I'll say it maybe a few more times :)… Thank you for all the support and kind words in the comments. I enjoy reading your comments and also thanks for sharing similar organizations such as Sundara Soap. Also I want to give a special thanks to Danilo Renzi who translated this answer into Spanish. I can hardly speak English well let alone another language.

You can follow me, but you might not see to much of this content since my specialty is dealing with technology. I also won't answer any questions before I've done appropriate research and/or have knowledge of beforehand. The only reason I personally know about Clean the World is through one of my buddies.

So thank you. Hope you guys have yet another wonderful day, stay positive, and stay healthy. Peace out.

*Edit* 7/19/2020 Some of you asked who participates in the donation of soap so I'm going to link you a Clean the World blog about Hilton. Hilton Launches Major Expansion of Industry’s Largest Soap Recycling Program to Help Communities in Need - Clean the World

*Edit* 7/29/2020 Some people have mentioned in the comments that most hotels are moving to dispensers for the shampoo and conditioner. Well this is true, however this does not really affect Clean the World since they mostly focus on bars of soap.

Thank you guys for the feedback and positive support. Have yet another wonderful day and stay safe.

While I was traveling last week, I stopped to sleep in Cedar City. I checked in and soon after encountered a series of puzzling and disturbing events.

I first walked into my room (#209) and it smelled like cologne. Like FRESH cologne. Like my grandpa had just come from the afterlife to put on his cologne. In my hotel room. The scent remained all night.

Entering the bathroom for the first time I foolishly used the toilet without a care in the world. Next I went to wash my hands. Now in the soap dish sat a “hotel” bar of soap. Closer inspection revealed that this wasn’t a new bar that they had unwrapped for me. No, this was a much rarer breed. This bar of soap had lines indented in it from the last person’s hands. There were also remnants of dirty water bubbles covering the surface.

By now I was growing suspicious so I started “checking around.” The toilet seat that my naked a$$ had just vacated looked like this:

Sink, complete with human hairs and small pile of god knows what!

And finally (I’m only including this because it’s weird) this is a picture of the front door from the inside. Why, yes, that IS, in fact, a two-inch gap between the door and the floor. LUCKY ME!!

And I just want to make sure we’re all clear on something…I am NOT the take pics of everything, everywhere, all the time type of girl. That damn bar of hotel soap messed me up so bad it completely changed my character!!

To FINALLY answer your question, sometimes hotels do nothing with your bar of soap.

Up until a few years back hotels mostly chucked toiletries away. Now almost all the big brand / top chains have policies in place to recycle.

Many hotels do not have soap bars at all, they place small bottles of refillable soap (liquid) and refillable bottles of shampoo /conditioner, eg the Marriott.

Some hotels consciously recycle their soaps (have them sent to recycle centers) eg IHG and Hilton

There are also a few organizations that collect used toiletries for recycling, e.g. Clean the World, Clean Conscience.

Smaller or local hotel chains have usually have a “on demand” policy that eliminates excess from the point of origin, they provide toiletries only when asked for. And then too their products are the very tiniest single or dual use type - which means that any excess is minimal. Some frugal hotel owners press the used bars together to be used by their staff later on, or make a solution of the leftover soaps to be used in cleaning toilets. These practices originate not out of a desire to recycle or be environmentally conscious but as a result of frugality and cost cutting, and a family owned or small hotel will almost always have some such trick up its sleeve.

When you check out of a hotel, you probably don't think twice about the half-empty bottles of shampoo or body wash left behind.

But what happens to them?

Well, it turns out that many hotels have a secret soap recycling program in place.

They collect the partially used toiletries and send them to recycling facilities that sanitize and re-bottle the contents.

These recycled toiletries are then donated to homeless shelters, disaster relief efforts, and other organizations that distribute them to people in need.

Hotels also have a solution for the barely used soap bars.

Some hotels participate in a program called "Clean the World," which collects and sanitizes the soap bars, then distributes them to developing nations where access to clean water and sanitation is limited.

In fact, the organization has already distributed over 50 million bars of soap globally.

But that's not all - many hotels also have their own in-house recycling programs for paper, plastics, and other waste materials, which helps reduce their environmental footprint.

And did you know that some hotels even use special software to track their waste management and measure their sustainability performance?

It's a complex process, but ultimately, it helps hotels reduce their waste and become more eco-friendly.

In some hotels, housekeeping staff are trained to inspect the toiletries and separate them into different categories based on their condition.

The ones that are almost new are set aside to be donated or reused, while the ones that are expired or contaminated are disposed of properly.

It's a meticulous process, but it's essential to ensure that the recycled toiletries are safe and hygienic for their new recipients.

And surprisingly, some hotels even partner with local charities to host soap-making workshops, where volunteers help sort and package the recycled toiletries for distribution.

Who knew that something as mundane as hotel toiletries could have such a significant impact on people's lives?

Hotels can adopt sustainable waste recycling practices such as:

1. Comprehensive waste segregation: Provide separate bins for recycling, compost, and general waste in guest rooms and public areas.
2. Composting organic waste: Use food waste for composting or partner with local farms for waste collection.
3. Minimizing plastic use: Replace single-use plastics with reusable or biodegradable alternatives.
4. Paperless options: Encourage digital check-ins, receipts, and other communication to reduce paper waste.
5. Recycling partnerships: Collaborate with local recycling facilities for efficient waste management.
6. Donating unused items: Donate leftover food, toiletries, and furniture to local charities.

Unfortunately each bar of soap that gets used by the guest is disposed of after the guest checks out. There are some companies that collect these and have a way of recycling for use elsewhere but this isn’t that common of a practise yet, I don’t believe.

A link to a company that does this if you are interested.

This is the same with the little bottles of shower gel and hand cream that get used in hotels. All gets binned.

I personally find it terrible that this is considered so normal.

There must be a way forward. I know a lot of hotel companies use dispensers and I think that has to be the beginning of a solution, it just needs to be more widespread.

Can we recycle expired soap?

If you are asking about real fat and lye soap, it will eventually biodegrade on its own.

Natural type soaps made from short-lived ingredients like milk and grain will also biodegrade quite quickly.

Manufactured fake soaps which are really “detergent” might or might not biodegrade depending upon the specific ingredients.

Typically neither soap nor detergent “expires” at any given time frame so there's no real reason to worry about dates. I recently found some new old stock containing a jug of liquid detergent hand wash and three jugs of cream detergent hand wash that is at least twenty-two years old. The liquid one is still perfectly fine for use; the cream one just needs so water mixed back in to rehydrate the mixture which contains pumice.

I've seen real fat and lye soap get a bit of mold on it from the super-fat content, yet it works perfectly fine once that's rubbed off under running water. - MarkKw

Once soap is rinsed of an item it would be fairly expensive to extract the soap ingredients from the rinse water. It would be counter productive as the carbon footprint for catchment and then extraction would be high.

If you are thinking of bar soap in which only a small almost unusable piece is left, one can use it. I collect these pieces and when there are enough I put them in a mold, usually a plastic bar soap container often used for traveling. I add water and let it gel. I then squeeze together any undissolved pieces and let the soap/water mix sit until it drys out. The result is a larger bar of soap that is usable.

When I worked in housekeeping at a hotel many years ago, what the customer didn't take we threw away. I don't know what they do these days. I would hope that they throw them away because you never know. Especially in the last three years and almost ten months, with the US on such a downward spiral, and the state that it's in, with so much hatred and violence and the USA being destroyed in front of our eyes, I trust no one but those I know well and my family certainly not housekeeping in hotels, but you just don't know. When I have stayed in hotels in the past and in the future I take my own soap lol

Hotels do use liquid soap instead of bar soap, but it's not just about personal preference or aesthetics.

It's actually due to logistical and financial reasons.

For instance, liquid soap is much easier to dispense and ration, reducing waste and saving hotels money in the long run.

Moreover, liquid soap is often less expensive than bar soap, especially in bulk quantities.

Another lesser-known fact is that hotels often use a specific type of soap that is designed to be more moisturizing, as it's formulated to work better with the soft water found in many hotels.

This is because hard water can cause soap to leave a residue on skin, and soft water allows for a richer lather.

Additionally, many hotels use soap dispensers that are tamper-evident, so guests can be assured that the soap has not been tampered with or used previously.

In terms of sustainability, some hotels have started using refillable soap dispensers, reducing the amount of plastic waste generated by individual soap packets.

This not only helps reduce environmental impact but also saves hotels money on waste disposal.

Furthermore, many hotels participate in soap recycling programs, where used soap is collected, sanitized, and redistributed to those in need, often in underserved communities.

Lastly, did you know that some high-end hotels use bespoke soap products, specifically designed for their brand and tailored to their target clientele's preferences?

These bespoke soaps might include unique fragrances, essential oils, or even specific skincare ingredients, adding an extra layer of luxury to the guest experience.

Guest soap: Hotels are starting to trend towards liquid soaps in dispensers rather than bar soaps for shower and hand washing. They either design this soap with the manufacturer or carefully choose an available one. Scent is crucial. They will match it to the bath and face bar also. By the way, virtually all the liquids are artificial.

Cleaning soaps: all detergents by the way, these are vital in passing inspections. Also the cleaners must be able to tolerate them all day long. These are all carefully formulated in the lab. Hotel managers will not chance an off brand with so much at stake.

I doubt that a recycled soap (whatever that is) could provide consistency of composition and odor needed for guests. I doubt soaps of any kind rather than detergents would be used in cleaning.

A recycled soap bar or product might be marketed in a farmers market where the fact it is recycled would be a selling point.

Liquid soap is convenient, but has no advantage over solid soap. They both mix with water to kill bacteria and viruses. Your wife is probably balking at picking up a bar that has been used by others, and perhaps hasn’t considered that when last wet with a concentrated soap solution on it’s surface, all micro-organisms were killed and nothing could grown on it when it was dry.

No because if I’m travelling I like to take my own bar of soap in a little soap box and my own pillow. A small bottle of white vinegar too to clean perhaps missed handles, remote controls and switches if I remember.

Savers U.K.

Bar soap makes it very easy to wash bacteria away and it can actually kill some bacteria, though by no means all of them. So there are some living on the bar, no doubt.

Detergent, which is what liquid soap is, does the very same thing. It makes it easy to wash off bacteria. If it’s got an antibacterial additive, it’ll kill the bacteria, well, most of them. Not all, that pesky 1% survives and becomes even more resistant, which is why antibacterial soaps make no sense to me at all.

The entire point of washing one’s hands most of the time, is to wash off bacteria, I can’t see how it matters if there are some bacteria living on the bar of soap, since they too will be washed off your skin along with all the rest of them.

And consider this. The top of the pump, which you must touch to dispense the soap from any liquid soap dispenser, is often quite filthy and can harbour loads of bacteria too.

So for me, I see no material difference. Bacteria are everywhere and there is no practical way to avoid them.