New York state will begin mandating that hotels no longer provide any “hospitality care” bottles such as shampoo, conditioner and lotions. The bill, which will take effect January 1, 2025, was passed in the New York Assembly in order to minimize waste.
According to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website, hotels with more than 50 rooms will be banned from providing any toiletries under 12 ounces. The bill is something that liberal lawmakers have been trying to pass since it was first introduced in 2019.
Just in case there is any confusion, “hospitality personal care product” is defined in the legislation as a “product provided by a hotel and intended to be applied to or used on the human body or any part thereof for cleansing.”
If a hotel breaks the restriction, they will first receive a warning with 30 days to “correct the violation.” If the hotel fails to do so, they will be “liable to the state for a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars.” A $500 fine will follow if the hotel is still providing bottles within the next 30 days, according to the legislation.
Some large hotels have already begun making adjustments, reports FOX Business. “We have long been focused on our residential amenities program, switching from small toiletry bottles to larger, pump-topped bottles as part of our commitment to reduce plastic waste,” a Marriott Hotels spokesperson told FOX Business.
The spokesperson added that by the end of 2023, Marriot Hotels achieved “95% compliance for the transition to residential bath amenities for certain brands across managed and franchised hotels globally, with additional properties transitioning through 2024.”
A Hilton spokesperson told FOX Business, “As of 2023, Hilton properties were required to transition to full-size shampoo, conditioner, and soap amenities, eliminating single-use miniature bottles and reducing disposed bars of soap.”
A similar law took effect in California to ban tiny toiletry bottles from the state’s hotels last year.