You know those tiny plastic bottles of shampoo in the hotel shower? Some of you use them and others take them home to show off the luxurious label of where you have been. Well, not much longer.
A ban on those plastics for larger hotels takes place at the start of 2023. However, the logistics of the hospitality industry mean the process for finding replacements is well underway.
Hart Hotels President and CEO David Hart said he understands the issues.
"We get it, that we are not being kind to the environment by having millions of these little bottles sitting in landfills, that don't break down, etc.," he said. "And it's not efficient use of the product. Because, again, someone opens the seal, uses a little bit of shampoo and then that's it. As operators, we're not reusing those things. The housekeepers, as you mentioned, throw them in the trash."
Generations of hotel guests have used the shampoo, body wash and other essentials, but landfills don't need any more non-degradable plastic bottles.
How many are there?
Hart said his company buys them by the truck load and the company has eight hotels in New York. Hart said the bottles have been around for years and big chains like Hilton and Intercontinental are preparing replacement plans, which his hotels will follow for those brands.
"Before we became green conscious, that was deemed to be a little on the utilitarian side. And so, they're obviously mandating that as their version of compliance with the law," Hart said. "So the guests have to get comfortable with that, as opposed to having their own individual usage of those items."
Hart said some of his hotels are independents, which means they don't wear the large chain brands. That means Hart Hotels have to figure out what to do, possibly just following the examples of the chains for simplicity.
"We have a choice to either follow what the brands are doing, put in our own system that complies with the law, or we can also opt to use biodegradable containers or bottles, if you will, that allow us to continue with more of an individual, single usage for those products," he said.
