California Just Banned Those Mini Shampoo Bottles in Hotels

The most wasteful part of your hotel trip will soon be washed away.

On Wednesday California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a state law banning hotels from giving guests plastic bottles filled with shampoo, conditioner or soap. The law will go into effect in 2023 for larger hotels (50+ rooms) and 2024 for smaller ones.

As the Associated Press notes (via Skift), this follows recent news by hotel chains such as Marriott and IHG (Holiday Inn, Kimpton) and by Disney resorts that their properties would voluntarily ease out small bottles over the next few years. Marriott’s switch to bulk-size toiletries is estimated to eliminate 500 million small bottles, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic (also, guest surveys showed that customers wanted the larger bottles).

Violators are subject to fines starting at $500. The ban takes aim at “single-use” bottles, which are considered containers less than six ounces.

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Kirk Miller

Kirk Miller is InsideHook’s Senior Lifestyle Editor (and longest-serving resident). He writes a lot about whisk(e)y, cocktails, consumer goods and artificial intelligence.