Most hotels provide toiletries as a courtesy. In fact, soap is the most commonly used amenity among hotel guests. However, they often leave behind partially used bars of soap. These are thrown away, generating lots of environmental trash.
In 2008, Shawn Seipler, who often stayed in hotels during business trips, decided to do something about the wasted soap. He asked several local hotels for their leftover soap and started a workshop in a garage. He and some volunteers used kitchen tools to clean, crush and melt the soap. The mixture was poured into casts, left to harden, and then cut up into new soap bars.
Seipler was searching for a purpose for the new soap when he discovered that 9,000 children under five were dying of hygiene-related illnesses globally every day. Research showed regular handwashing could cause a 50% reduction in these deaths. Seipler started the Clean the World nonprofit foundation to distribute recycled soap to needy people. It’s grown from a one-garage operation to six production facilities around the world. Now, professional machines filter out debris and complete every production step. Since 2009, Clean the World has sent 68 million bars of soap to 127 countries.
照片：Clean the World Asia提供
Over 8,000 hotels, resorts, casinos, cruises, and airlines pay a small fee to take part in the program. They’re provided with storage bins to donate their old soap. They also get environmental impact reports from Clean the World. This makes it easy for businesses to get rid of soap waste and helps them meet ecological goals.
Although it’s the biggest soap recycling company, Clean the World isn’t the only one. EcoSoap has provided 113,400 kilograms of soap to ten countries experiencing soap shortages. Diversey, a hotel hygiene product company, has recycled 25 million bars of soap since 2013. Thanks to these efforts, soap that would be normally thrown away helps save thousands of lives.
大多數飯店基於禮儀都有提供洗漱用品。事實上，肥皂是飯店客人最常用的備品。然而，房客經常留下未使用完的肥皂。這些肥皂會被丟棄，並產生大量的環境垃圾。
西元2008年，經常出差入住飯店的尚恩薛普勒決定對被浪費的肥皂做些什麼。他向幾家當地飯店要了剩餘的肥皂，並在車庫裡開了一間工作室。他與一些志願者使用廚房工具清潔、壓碎與熔化肥皂。混合物被倒入模具中，使其硬化，然後裁切成新的肥皂條。
在薛普勒發現全球每天有約九千名五歲以下的兒童死於衛生相關的疾病時，他正在尋找新製肥皂的用途。研究顯示，規律洗手可以使這些死亡人數減少百分之五十。薛普勒創立了潔世非營利基金會，以分發回收肥皂給有需要的人。潔世已從一個車庫組織成長到在全球有六座生產設備。現在，專業機器能過濾掉碎屑並完成每一個生產步驟。自西元2009年以來，潔世已向一百二十七個國家發送了六千八百萬塊肥皂條。
有超過八千家飯店、度假勝地、賭場、遊輪以及航空公司支付少量費用來參與這項計畫。他們被提供儲物箱以捐贈他們的舊肥皂。他們也從潔世獲得環境影響報告。這使企業可以輕鬆擺脫肥皂浪費並幫助他們實現環保目標。
儘管潔世是最大的肥皂回收公司，但它並非唯一一個。EcoSoap已向十個處於肥皂短缺的國家提供了十一萬三千四百公斤的肥皂。飯店衛生用品公司泰華施自西元2013年以來，也已回收了兩千五百萬塊肥皂。多虧這些努力，一般來說會被丟棄的肥皂挽救了數千人的性命。
MORE INFORMATION
toiletries n. 盥洗用品（恆用複數）
amenity n. 便利設施（此指備品）
hygiene n. 衛生（情況）
debris n. 碎屑；殘渣
casino n. 賭場
KEY VOCABULARY
1. courtesy n. 禮節；禮貌
As a courtesy, please wipe off the exercise machines with alcohol and a towel when you finish using them.
出於禮貌，請在使用完健身器材後用酒精和毛巾擦拭它們。
2. partially adv. 不完全地；部分地
The hamburger was only partially cooked, so Karen told the waiter to send it back to the restaurant’s kitchen.
那份漢堡並未完全煮熟，所以凱倫請服務生把它送回餐廳廚房。
3. crush v. 壓碎；擠壓
Allie was afraid to catch the cockroach, so she crushed it with her shoe.
艾莉不敢抓蟑螂，所以她用鞋子打扁它。
4. nonprofit adj. 非營利性的
This nonprofit organization builds houses for homeless people and relies on volunteer labor.
這個非營利組織仰賴志工為無家可歸的人建造房屋。
5. distribute vt. 分發；分配
The protestors distributed their leaflets in tourist areas in order to reach a larger audience.
那些抗爭者為了觸及更廣大的群眾而在觀光區分發傳單。
6. professional adj. 專業的；職業的
Employees at this company are expected to behave in a professional manner at all times.
這間公司的員工被要求隨時表現專業的態度。
7. filter v. 過濾
filter out 過濾掉……
The difficult application process filters the lazier candidates out.
這項困難的申請流程過濾掉較懶散的候選人。
8. resort n. 度假勝地
Stephanie decided to stay at a luxurious seaside resort, rather than a cheap hostel, during her vacation.
休假期間，史蒂芬妮決定住在豪華的海濱度假勝地，而非一間便宜的旅社。
9. get rid of 擺脫；除去
It’s time for me to get rid of these old clothes; they don’t fit anymore.
我是時候該把這些舊衣服丟掉了；它們已不再合身。
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