SapoCycle turns discarded hotel soaps into life-saving products.
7th of June 2022 – Zürich, Switzerland. At EarthCheck, we actively seek partnerships that help us engage with our community and enrich people’s lives. Today, EarthCheck and SapoCycle have partnered to help its members in Europe recycle used soaps, support social integrations and foster humanitarian action.
Close to one and half million children die from preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea every year. Handwashing with soap before meals and after toilet use has been shown to reduce diarrhoeal infections by 40% (Source UNICEF). HANDWASHING WITH SOAP is an easy, effective and affordable do-it-yourself protection that prevents infections and saves lives. Around the globe, millions of used hotel soaps are discarded every day and sent off to landfill sites, creating an ever-increasing environmental problem.
So how does it work?
SapoCycle coordinate the soap collection: Once the hotels have joined the programme, SapoCycle provide them with instructions and marketing tools. The hotels collect the used soaps and individual shampoo bottles, shower gel and conditioner. The soaps are picked up by SapoCycle’s logistic partners in Switzerland and France and transported to the recycling workshops.
SapoCycle manages the soap recycling process: For the recycling of the soaps, SapoCycle partners with Wohnwerk (Basel, Switzerland) and Adapei Papillons Blancs (Alsace, France), two institutions that provide employment to people with disabilities. They are in charge of grating, grounding, and turning used soaps into new hygienic soap bars under strict bacteriological control. The liquid contents that are left in bottles are repurposed.
SapoCycle organises the distribution with their partners: Their distribution partners work to improve health and hygiene in developing countries. They also deliver toiletries to families in need in Ukraine, France, Switzerland and abroad.
To learn more about the foundation, please visit sapocycle.org
