Marriott International, which is the world’s largest hotel chain, has announced it’s doing away with those tiny single-use bottles of shampoo, body wash and conditioner in favor of pump-topped bulk refillables.
Marriott announced earlier in the week that the change-over, already underway, would be complete by December, 2020, saving potentially 1.7 million pounds of plastic and about half a billion little bottles. Yes, B Billion. But then, Marriott has 7,000 hotels under its various brands.
Marriott’s move follows a similar one by IHG, whose brands include Holiday Inn, and Hyatt, which is beginning the process. Others will eventually have to join as states and the EU ban the disposables; California and Europe have already passed laws taking effect over the next couple of years.
Sadly, the move to big body-wash bottles is likely to leave behind those of us still addicted to bar soap…but we have more than a year to take the extras home from hotel stays before we have to start carrying from home!
