I am enjoying the last few days of August with a very simple formula of friends + sun + sea + food + wine, and I couldn't be happier.
In this week's newsletter I wanted to talk about what happens to the soap you leave behind at hotels, lodges, hostels and resorts.
โ
.๐ญ Got a friend who would love to read ? Forward her this email!
๐ฉ Did a friend send you this email? Subscribe to receive our weekly Travel tips here.
What happens to leftover soap
โ
Are you camp 1) take all the bathroom amenities or 2) do you leave them behind?
I used to take the half used bottles of shampoo, soap and conditioner, but ended up with mountains of amenities that I donated to charity.
I now don't usually take anything with me except for cool products or high quality ones but, is that the right thing? Should I take them home? What happens to the soap and other bathroom amenities we leave behind?
โ
The trash
In the majority of the cases, the unopened or half used shampoo bottles and soap bars end up in the trash and, eventually, in landfill.
These products typically contain plastic and other chemicals that pollute the environment and the air, not to mention the large amounts of waste.
For safety reasons, and in many cases because it is the law, even unused / unopened bars and bottles must be thrown out after every stay.
If you don't see a hotel mentioning its soap is recycled, and they still give away individual bottles / bars, I would recommend you take your unused / half used amenities and donated them to a local charity as they will otherwise end up in landfill.
โ
Recycling and reusing
Organizations around the world have started to sprout in the last decade to address this wastage by collecting unused soap and shampoo bottles from hotels, recycling it and donating it to charities and communities in need that do not have access to soap.
Some of the soap is sent overseas but the majority stays in the countries it is recycled in and donated to disadvantaged communities or shelters that need hygiene products.
Even though this is a relatively new effort, most large international chain hotels have started to participate in such projects.
Some of the first ones, like Eco soap Bank or Clean the world, are global and have presence in many countries, while others remain local to each country.
โ๏ธ Swedish Arctic 28 Mar to 3 Apr [2 SPOTS LEFT] >> Book hereโ
๐ฆ Australia: 11 to 22 Oct >> Book here [Meg will host this trip]
๐ฅ Barcelona & Beyond: 6 to 14 Jun || 20 to 28 Jun >> Book hereโ
๐๏ธ Kilimanjaro climb on Intl Women's Day: 1 to 10 Mar or 1 to 15 Mar with safari extension >> Book here.
โต Greek islands sailing trip: 29 May to 5 Jun >> Book here [I will host this trip]โ
๐ Cuba: 14 to 22 Feb || 14 to 22 Mar || 12 to 20 Dec || New Year's Eve >> Book hereโ
๐ช๐ฌ Egypt: 3 to 12 Apr [2 SPOTS LEFT] || 30 Oct to 8 Nov >> Book here
๐ช Morocco: 2 to 12 Oct || 6 to 16 Nov >> Book hereโ
๐ฆ Tanzania Value safari + Zanzibar: 28 Aug to 7 Sep (Great Migration) || 11 to 21 Sep (Great Migration) || 23 Dec to 2 Jan, 2027 (Xmas + NYE) >> Book hereโ
๐น๐ฟ Tanzania Luxe safari + Zanzibar: 25 Sep to 5 Oct, 2026 (Great Migration) || 1 to 10 Nov, 2026 >> Book hereโ
๐ฆ๐ถ Antarctica: 13 to 27 Dec >> Book here [I will host this trip]โ
๐ฌ Ecuador & The Galapagos: 5 to 17 May [I will host this trip, Sold out] >> Join the waitlistโ
๐ด Caribbean island hopping: 13 to 20 Feb, 2027 >> Book here[Both Meg and I will host this trip]
โ