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RECYCLING
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February15
A Simple Gift
of Soap
At first glance, it seems difficult to find many
synergies between a luxury hotel chain, a global
logistics company, a Singapore-based international
school and a non-government organisation. Yet
representatives from all four of these groups have
collaborated in an unlikely-sounding venture:
soap recycling. KATIE ROBERTS found out
how this alliance is kicking environmental goals
and improving the health of vulnerable Asian
communities.
L
ike all great stories, this one started out with a simple
idea: to do something with the half-used bars of
soap that guests at two Hilton Worldwide hotels in
Singapore leave behind. I’m sure many of us have
thought fleetingly about the unused soap during our own hotel
stays, before rushing out the door to our next engagement.
HH wanted to do something environmentally sustainable
to tackle the wastage of 8,000 bars of perfectly good soap
Tondo, one of the largest slums in Manila, is
built on a landfill. After receiving the soap,
this child living in Tondo ran immediately to
find a water source to wash with.
a month. In 2012, it added the conundrum to a list of global
sustainability issues presented to international students at the
Ginsing (Global Issues Network) Conference in Singapore.
This caught the imagination of students at United World
College South East Asia (UWCSEA) who, as part of their
education, are encouraged to be involved in a service
programme. Vote For Soap was born, and it’s become one of
150 unique service groups operated by students at UWCSEA,