Traveler sparks debate after sharing their hotel checkout habits: 'My boyfriend calls me a little thief'

You might have to rewire your brain slightly, but a hotel guest explained why stealing certain items from the room is actually responsible.

The Redditor shared their stash of hotel goods to the r/Anticonsumption subreddit.

They began by noting they don't use the single-use toiletries that hotels provide, but they do break into hand soaps. While they've noticed hotels are making the switch to refillable shampoo and body wash containers in the shower, that doesn't extend to sink soaps.

Instead of letting the partially used soaps go to waste, they've created their own collection that they use for their bathroom. When they do encounter unopened toiletries, they donate them.

They concluded by asking the community: "Anyone else find peace and joy in the little acts of sustainability and anticonsumption?"

"My boyfriend calls me a little thief for taking these but I will now tell him I've rebranded it to…sustainability," a commenter shared.

"They're part of the service of staying at a hotel," the OP replied. "And if they're partially used they're going to get tossed (recycled if lucky) by housekeeping anyway."

The two of them are completely right, as the founder of Clean the World, Shawn Seipler, can attest. Seipler formed the company after finding out just how much soap was getting dumped in landfills by the hospitality industry. Now, Clean the World recycles and donates millions of soap bars sourced from hotels to countries that need it.

Not every hotel recycles their soap, so finding a use in your own home is a great move. Otherwise, it could end up in a methane-producing landfill that contributes to the warming of the planet. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane gas is over 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. 

When it comes to the single-use items still circulating, saving and donating them is also admirable. Since they're made of plastic, they pose even more of an environmental hazard. Down the road, they can leak worrisome microplastics that end up everywhere, including in the oceans and in our bodies.

What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste? Saving money 💰 Helping the planet 🌎 Not being a wasteful person 😇 I don't think about reducing food waste 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

That's why it's no surprise Illinois and New York are among the states to ban single-use plastic in hotels.

Other Redditors were on board with the OP's routine.

"I have a soap container in my travel bag to take home any soap I open," one shared.

"I've been project pan-ing them all for a little while though and it's felt good to get through the stash since it's several years deep," another said.

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