Recycling being too expensive can also be a sign that it isn't worth it. This only works because it's subsidized from all ends: the hotels are subsidizing it t

Recycling being too expensive can also be a sign that it isn't worth it. This only works because it's subsidized from all ends: the hotels are subsidizing it to get some PR out of it, and 20k volunteers are subsidizing it with free labor (according to the article). Soap is cheap. I can buy ~400 g of soap for a dollar, at retail prices. This covers the entire supply chain to produce it, get it to the store, and sell it to me, and the price isn't just the price, it's also a rough indicator for the effort and to some extent the environmental impact. I wouldn't be surprised if the shipping, the production facilities, the fuel for the volunteers commuting etc. made this a net-negative (compared to throwing out the leftovers and making new soap at industrial scale) not just economically, but also for the environment.