Hotels dispensing with bathroom clutter

In Atlanta, former refugee Derreck Kayongo of Uganda and his wife Sarah operate the Global Soap Project, which is getting shipments of used soap from about 200 hotels across the nation. The group recently bought its own soapmaking machine and has 15 tons of used hotel soap in a warehouse waiting to be processed.

“Our plan is to sanitize and melt the soap, and turn it into new six-ounce bars,” says Kayongo. “Then we’ll ship the soap to Africa and work with an existing NGO [non-governmental organization] to distribute the soap at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, which has been kind in hosting brothers and sisters who are escaping wars in other countries.”

What’s next?
Trend-wise, green consultant Maher says after all the tiny bottles and bars get replaced by dispensers, look for hotels to begin the wholesale installation of digital thermostats that can sense if a person is in the room and adjusts the temperature accordingly.

All well and good, says The Davenport’s Jensen, “But first it would be nice to come up with something that solves the problem of what to do with all the half-used rolls of toilet paper hotels end up with.”