The Empire State is implementing a ban on single-use plastic bottles for toiletries in hotels.
Starting January 1, 2025, hotels with more than 50 rooms will no longer provide miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
Smaller establishments with fewer rooms will have a grace period until January 1, 2026 to comply with the ban.
Fines for violations start at $250 and increase for repeat violations, and funds raised will go toward environmental protection efforts in the state.
New York will become the second state after California to ban the small bottles that hotel guests love and often take with them at the end of their stay.
The Empire State is implementing a ban on single-use plastic bottles for toiletries in hotels
Starting January 1, 2025, hotels with more than 50 rooms will no longer provide miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
Originally proposed in 2019, the initiative was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021. The delay allows hotels to use their existing stock of small bottles.
New York’s legislation reflects a broader movement in the hospitality industry to reduce single-use plastic waste. Major hotel chains such as Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group have already pledged to reduce their reliance on plastic, with toiletries bottles a key target.
By the end of 2023, 95 percent of Marriott hotels had adopted larger, pump-based shampoo and conditioner dispensers. This eco-friendly measure is expected to continue through 2024.
What’s the impact? Marriott estimates that this change will prevent 500 million small plastic bottles from ending up in landfills each year, a spokesperson told the New York Times.
But smaller and higher-end hotels are struggling to navigate the transition. John Fitzpatrick, a hotelier who owns two four-star hotels in Midtown Manhattan, told the Times he worries that wall-mounted pump bottles will be harder to clean.
Fitzpatrick and his team brainstormed and proposed foil packets the size of sauce packets, but the valid concern is whether these packets would be easy to open in the shower.
“You know, I thought companies would come up with a lot of new ideas,” Fitzpatrick said. “But here we are, sitting at the table.”
Smaller establishments with fewer than 50 rooms will have a grace period until January 1, 2026 to comply with the ban.
New York will become the second state after California to ban the tiny bottles that hotel guests love and even keep for themselves after their trip in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.
As New York tourism nearly returns to pre-pandemic numbers — the city attracted 62 million tourists last year, 93 percent of 2019’s record — Fitzpatrick said hotel guests value hygiene and cleanliness now more than ever.
That’s why he predicts hotels would likely switch to a new luxury toiletries supplier for their larger bottles, hoping that guests would be satisfied enough with the fancy brand to forgive the fact that other guests had used them previously.
“It’s something that we’re concerned about,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re not totally convinced how it’s going to work.”