You’d better cling onto your stash – miniature toiletries could soon be a thing of the past, as the most sweeping regulations on the beloved hotel perk roll out.
You can’t steal twenty shampoo bottles anymore
While it’s not been fully approved yet, the European Union has introduced new legislation that would see mini shampoos, shower gels, and tubes of toothpaste banned from hotels – the largest ban of its kind.
The measures are part of a broader effort to reduce the continent’s waste. According to an environmental commission created to research and tackle the issue, every citizen in the EU contributed 160kg of waste last year, and without immediate action, that could rise a further 18%.It’s the biggest ban, but not the first
It’s not just Europe, though. The US has also had similar legislation emerge. New York will see its own ban take place in 2024, allowing hotels time to use up their current stocks. California will feel changes sooner, with large hotels switching in 2023 and smaller ones in 2024.
Many hotels oppose the move, mainly for financial reasons, but it hasn’t stopped IHG and Marriott. The franchise has already installed soap dispensers at over a thousand hotels worldwide. Marriott admitted it throws out over 500 million toiletries every year.
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