Several of Hilton’s brands have partnered with Clean the World to challenge hotel owners and team members to recycle enough leftover bars of soap to create a million new bars by Global Handwashing Day on Oct. 15. Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Home2 Suites by Hilton all are participating in the initiative.
Through its recycling partnership with Clean the World, Hilton has already helped distribute more than 7.6 million bars of recycled soap, stopping more than 2 million pounds of soap and amenity bottles from heading to landfills. Through Clean the World’s process, leftover soap fragments are crushed, sanitized, cut into new soap bars and then distributed to communities in need. Amenity bottles are either recycled or repurposed for hygiene kits.
The Clean the World Challenge lines up with Hilton’s larger corporate responsibility strategy Travel with Purpose. As part of this initiative, Hilton aims to cut its environmental footprint in half by 2030 and double its social impact investment. As part of its sustainability efforts, Hilton and many of its brands have committed to not sending any soap to landfills.
“We are always looking for ways to have a positive impact in the communities where we develop and serve millions of guests each year,” Bill Duncan, global head, all suites and focused service category, Hilton, said in a statement.
Since its founding in 2009, Clean the World has provided more than 48 million bars of soap to more than 10 million individuals in 127 countries.