Hotel Toiletries - Take Them or Not

According to the New York Post article This is why you should steal shampoo from hotels, you should take them. However, make sure you take the toiletries you used, too, meaning the opened bottles and soap. Why?

The NY Post does not tell us anything new. Hotels throw out the toiletries you open. What gets thrown out winds up in landfill.
To save our landfills and help the needy get access to sanitary products, Clean the World has part of the solution.

Clean the World gets leftover soap bars from hotels. They sanitize the bars, melt them down and make new soap bars which are then distributed for free to those in need.

What about the opened bottles of shampoo, conditioner or lotion? The article said nothing about those. I think there's still a landfill problem. I would think plastic would take longer to decompose than the soap bars.

Here's my take on hotel toiletries. No, you are not STEALING if you take the toiletries home with you. You paid for the room. The toiletries belong to you. If you don't need them, leave them.

Do you want to help the landfill? You can take the USED toiletries home with you. Yes, I'm talking about the open soap bar and opened bottles of shampoo/conditioner/lotion. Take the plastic bag from the ice bucket and dump everything in it. Remember to take them out of your carrier and finish using them up at home.

If you are like me who has lived in many hotels and have accumulated lots and lots of toiletry items because you took them home with you, check with your local shelters or church organizations. You may be able to help those groups out by donating them. If you find out they are happy to accept them, create individual toiletry packages using ziplock bags. This will make distribution quick and easy for the shelter.

Reduce. Reuse. Recyle. ... let's do as much as we can even if it's a tiny bit. You will be helping yourself, your community and the environment by saving money, energy and natural resources.