Generous giving with a Green benefit could be no greater gift or attitude during the holidays or any day of the year for that matter. And, that is exactly what hotels on the Strip in Las Vegas are doing – gathering all the leftover/used shampoos, body lotions and soaps in guest rooms and giving them to an organization called Clean the World to recycle and redistribute these toiletries to the global community in need of improved hygiene and health. There are no hooks, deals, discounts, flash or odds.
Generous giving with a Green benefit could be no greater gift or attitude during the holidays or any day of the year for that matter. And, that is exactly what hotels on the Strip in Las Vegas are doing – gathering all the leftover/used shampoos, body lotions and soaps in guest rooms and giving them to an organization called Clean the World to recycle and redistribute these toiletries to the global community in need of improved hygiene and health. There are no hooks, deals, discounts, flash or odds.
We Hoteliers used to have our housekeeping staff replace these amenities and discard them, further cluttering up the environment and landfills. Perhaps, we tried to reprocess those old soaps and use them in our laundry operations. We just accepted the fact that they were a loss, part of the cost of doing business. Ho Hum. Many of us collected those various amenities during our trips and brought them home. I used to save them all from my various hotel stays, and, when the bag was full, drop them off at an organization for abused women. I can imagine the joy, given their travails, with having good soap, moisturizer, shower caps and shampoos. It helps rekindle our personal pride. Translate that impact over a broader audience in need – families, children, whole villages, and we begin to better understand the humanity of this effort.
Clean the World has sent these goods to shelters and community organizations throughout North America, even helping Haitians struggling with the earthquake and the Philippines still recovering from devastating floods.
These used amenities are placed in a bin at participating hotels, picked up by drivers and delivered to a recycling center where they are sorted, cleaned and sanitized. The Center in Las Vegas, one of four, “…has processed 30,976 pounds of soap and 18,564 pounds of bottled amenities from the Strip since the first of the year. The plant also collects thousands of additional tons of hygiene products from hotels across the Western United States”, according to an article in the Las Vegas Sun last week. Operational funding comes from donations and grants with Caesars a major benefactor.
“Wash your hands”, our Mothers would clamor. We played along (mostly), but as adults we know better, particularly with the flu floating about. Just magnify this reality throughout the world – an even greater need with little resources. Imagine helping to prevent diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infection, two of the top killers.
Consider this stat - since it was founded in 2009, Clean the World has distributed almost 11 million bars of soap to people in more than 45 countries. The effort also has kept 1.2 million pounds of trash out of landfills.
Most of us have mixed feelings about Las Vegas. But, here is an effort worthy of note and our thanks.
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