Are you tired of not knowing what to do with all those tiny soap scraps that have a way of accumulating? It seems a waste to just chuck them in the bin, and yet they don’t lend themselves easily for re-use.

Fret not, such soapy detritus can be recycled effectively – and easily – and in this video, Marta Tarallo of the Bottega Zero Waste YouTube channel shows us how to do just that, to produce a brand new soap bar.

Ingredients for the recipe demonstrated include:

  • 20g of soap
  • 2 teaspoons of water
  • Optional: 0.5 per cent essential oils, or fragrance

As for equipment, you’ll need:

  • A cheese grater
  • A bowl
  • A mould
  • A saucepan

The purpose of adding water to the process is to keep the soap from burning and sticking to the saucepan. But remember: all the water you add in, will need to evaporate out, and if you add too much, the soap will end up too soft and never really set. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 teaspoon of water for every 10g of soap.

Tip: if your soap is a bit drying and you want to add some moisture, you can also add a few drops of glycerin or oil for every 10g of soap.

View the original video here.

Good Living is the Cyprus Mail’s portal of curated content from across the internet, showcasing local and global ideas, cultural highlights, and scientific and technological developments to inspire a sustainable life.