[PLUG-TALK] A "Green" Idea For Some Entrepreneur

[Rich Shepard]

   Lot's of folks are unemployed or underemployed. Here's a potential
business for someone who wants something different.

   Years ago I was traveling more than I now do and always wondered what
happens to the soaps and shampoos left in hotel rooms by departing guests.
Incidental research gave me the answer: they're thrown out. What a waste!
And what an opportunity. There must be tens of thousands of slightly used
soap bars and 30ml bottles of 'poo, conditioner, and lotion that could be
reconstituted and repacked before being sold for minimal prices.

   I'm sure that hotels would put all these materials in supplied containers
that were picked up every few days (depending on how quickly they
accumulate) and give them away. It saves them on garbage haulage fees and
provides feed stock for the cost of collecting it.

   There is a huge community of folks who make their own soaps, so the
technologies and techniques to melt them and rebuild bars is readily
available. The liquids are bought from suppliers in limited variety and
could easily be repacked by type. With the economy down, it should be easy
to sell these recycled products to the cost-conscious consumer.

   And remember that today is a national holiday celebrating the invention of
sausage: it's ground hog day! Have pepperoni on your pizza today.

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |  Integrity            Credibility
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc.        |            Innovation
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>     Voice: 503-667-4517      Fax: 503-667-8863