The Economics of Everyday Things: "Used Hotel Soaps"

Host: Zachary Crockett (Freakonomics Network)
Air Date: January 12, 2026
Episode 4

Episode Overview

In this episode, Zachary Crockett explores the journey of used hotel soaps and the surprising impact their afterlife can have globally. The show investigates what happens to those small bars of soap left behind by hotel guests, the environmental and humanitarian efforts to recycle them, and the fascinating economics and logistics behind this seemingly mundane item.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Question: What Happens to Used Hotel Soap?

• [01:03 – 02:08]
  • Sean Seipler, a frequent traveler, wonders what happens to the soap bars he barely uses in hotels.
  • Seipler describes his frugality:

    “There's a natural, I don't want to waste things in me. And as I would use a bar of soap one time, there was always a little nag inside of me that I'm leaving it here.” (Sean Seipler, 01:40)

  • Seipler calls his hotel’s front desk and learns:

    “They said we throw it away.” (Sean Seipler, 04:38)

2. Hotel Amenities: Soap as a Staple

• [02:24 – 04:13]
  • Chai Katon Dev, professor at Cornell's Nolan School of Hotel Administration, gives history:
    • Early hotels didn’t offer soap or even private bathrooms.
    • Soap became the first true bathroom amenity as hotels modernized.
  • Soap is now the most widely used hotel amenity:

    “86% of hotel guests use those packaged soaps. They're more utilized than any other hotel room amenity, even the TV.” (Zachary Crockett, 03:16)

    • Dev adds:

      “It's a self-fulfilling prophecy... It’s there because it’s used and guests expect it.” (Chaikaton Dev, 03:54)

  • Vast quantities are needed:

    “Between 5 and 6 million hotel rooms around the world... hundreds of millions of room nights.” (Chaikaton Dev, 04:15)

3. The Launch of Clean the World

• [04:30 – 05:54]
  • Seipler begins experimenting in his garage to recycle hotel soap.
  • Early methods involved labor-intensive processes:

    “We're all sitting on upside down pickle buckets with potato peelers. We are scraping the outside of those bars of soap… grinding it through a meat grinder.” (Sean Seipler, 04:58)

  • The Holiday Inn at Orlando International Airport becomes first donor hotel.

4. Why Bother? Global Health Impact

• [08:00 – 08:29]
  • Seipler’s research reveals a crucial global need:

    “6,000 children under the age of five were dying every day from pneumonia and diarrheal disease…if you just gave them soap and taught them how and when to wash their hands, you could cut those deaths in half.” (Sean Seipler, 08:21)

• [08:29 – 08:56]
  • Despite early rejection from the Gates Foundation, Seipler pushes forward, founding Clean the World, a nonprofit to provide recycled soap to communities in need.

5. How Soap Recycling Works

• [09:09 – 11:20]
  • Room attendants collect used soap in designated bins.
  • At Clean the World, the soap undergoes industrial processing:
    • Ground into shreds and filtered to remove contaminants:

      “That filter catches all the surface material. So any plastic, hair, paper, dirt… those filters have to be changed about every 45 minutes. So it's almost like NASCAR.” (Sean Seipler, 09:27)

    • Blended with soaps of various types and moisture levels.
    • “Soap whisperer” Carlos Anderson perfects the mixture and hydration.
    • Result: Unique, marbled recycled soap bars, distributed globally (e.g., Dominican Republic, Nairobi, Uganda, Philippines, Ukraine)

6. Economic and Environmental Incentive for Hotels

• [11:20 – 12:33]
  • Funding was a major challenge – at first, there was no business model.

    “We are reducing landfill waste. We are sending soap back to countries and places where so many of the room attendants are actually from… There’s a PR value here. So what's going on inside of me is we gotta get hotels to pay for this.” (Sean Seipler, 11:42)

  • Today, U.S. hotels pay Clean the World 50-80 cents per room per month (partly offset by reduced waste disposal fees).

7. Scale and Impact

• [12:33 – 12:55]
  • Based on current operations:

    “We recycle 1.4 million hotel rooms on a daily basis. In 13 years, we have diverted 22 million pounds of waste and we have distributed 75 million donated bars of soap…” (Sean Seipler, 12:33)

8. Systemic Limits & Future Possibilities

• [12:55 – 13:27]
  • Clean the World reaches just a fraction of the total global soap waste.

    “Clean the World can't save all the soaps. They’d have to multiply their operation by a factor of about 100…” (Zachary Crockett, 12:55)

  • Dev calls for more root-level change:

    “I would like to see more efforts made at the root of the problem to give people an incentive to bring your soap with you.” (Chaikaton Dev, 13:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Origin Story in the Garage (Scrappy Beginnings):

  "We're all sitting on upside down pickle buckets with potato peelers. We are scraping the outside of those bars of soap."
  — Sean Seipler [04:58]

• Soap's Public Health Superpower:

  “If you just gave them soap and taught them how and when to wash their hands, you could cut those deaths in half.”
  — Sean Seipler [08:21]

• Soap Whisperer Mechanic:

  "Our soap whisperer here in Orlando is Carlos Anderson... He has to determine how much water has to get put in so that it doesn't fall apart, so it doesn't crumble, so it's not too hard, so it's not any of the things that we don't want."
  — Sean Seipler [10:28]

• Scale of Operation and Impact:

  "We have distributed 75 million donated bars of soap to children, families across the globe."
  — Sean Seipler [12:33]

• The Scale of Waste (Sobering Tally):

  “Every year, around three quarters of a billion barely used hotel soaps, maybe even yours, are headed to a landfill to join their friends.”
  — Zachary Crockett [13:27]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:03] – Sean Seipler begins questioning the fate of used hotel soap
• [02:24] – History and evolution of hotel amenities
• [04:30] – Sean Seipler’s garage experiment starts Clean the World
• [08:00] – Soap recycling’s impact on child mortality globally
• [09:27] – The industrial soap recycling process explained
• [10:28] – Introduction of the soap whisperer
• [12:33] – Clean the World’s reach and impact statistics
• [13:15] – Arguments for root-level change in guest behavior

Tone and Presentation

The episode is brisk, investigative, and filled with surprising facts, all delivered in Zachary Crockett’s signature mix of curiosity, deadpan honesty, and an eye for the quirky details of everyday economics. The guest speakers—Seipler's scrappy optimism and Dev's matter-of-fact analysis—add both warmth and rigor to the conversation.

Summary

"Used Hotel Soaps" takes a surprisingly fascinating look at an item we barely notice but collectively waste on a massive scale. The episode traces the journey from hotel discard to life-saving hygiene tool, examines the business and logistics required to facilitate that journey, and leaves listeners considering both the promise of recycling innovation and the need to rethink everyday habits. Engaging, hopeful, and a bit sobering, it’s an intriguing peek behind the bathroom sink.