The 15th October is Global Handwashing Day and Hilton Worldwide who USS are proud to work in partnership with have set a clean the world challenge to recycle a million bars of soap by this date.
By 2030 Hilton aims to cut its environmental footprint in half and send zero soap to landfill.
As many as 3 billion people around the world lack basic sanitation and over 3,500 children die every day from preventable hygiene related illnesses.
This discarded soap is crushed, sanitised and made into new soap bars and this challenge will make a meaningful difference to countless people in need.
If you’re fed up with throwing your left over soap away, why not try out some or all of the following suggestions and do your bit too.
- Reuse: Soap is a useful addition to tool boxes, sewing kits and bike repair kits as it’s a good lubricant. Keep an end of soap in each in case you need it.
- Recycle – in the home: Collect the ends of several bars of soap and grate them up (or break them into small pieces) then gently heat them until they’re malleable. Finally squish them into a mould and leave them to re-solidify and there you go, new soap. You can also grate them up to make laundry soap – a frugal alternative to washing powder.
- Recycle – in the garden or garage: Place the stubs of several soap bars into the foot of an old pair of tights/stocking/thin sock or a fine net bag (such as an onion or garlic bag), then hang them near an outdoor tap for when you. The fabric/net will keep much of the dirt/grim away from the soap itself and help increase lather too.
