Have you ever wondered if there was an alternative to those tiny hotel toiletry bottles? There is! Hotels can use large, reusable, and refillable containers for products like shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. 

Making such a switch saves hotels money, that’s why Marriott International is already planning to stop using mini bottles, estimating that they will avoid throwing away 500 million such bottles every year.

But most hotels and motels have yet to adopt refillable toiletry containers, so let’s ban them in New York! Bills A5082 and S543 would do just that, taking effect January 1, 2024 for all hotels with more than 50 rooms, and one year later for all smaller hotels. This gives hotels plenty of time to adapt.

Besides wasting shampoo, these bottles are made of plastic, which is made of oil. We are all familiar with the plastic pollution crises happening on our planet, polluting our bodies and our ecosystems. Production of plastic additional contributes to the negative impacts from climate change and disproportionately affects communities of color.

Take a few minutes and send your elect officials a message that it’s just common sense to move to refillable hotel toiletry containers, by banning individual sized bottles. Thank you!