State Sen. Todd Kaminsky this week announced a legislative proposal that aims to ban New York hotels from single-use plastic toiletry bottles in guest rooms.
New York hotels dispose of an estimated 27 million plastic toiletries annually, according to a report by NBC.
The proposed ban would force hotels to use wall-mounted dispensers or use larger bottles and even in some cases package single-use items in other material besides plastic.
In a statement, Kaminsky said, “By barring hotels from giving single-use plastic toiletries to customers, we are safeguarding our environment, and mitigating plastic waste and waterway pollution.”
The bill has already been backed by the state hospitality, state tourism and the Hotel Association of New York City.
Some hospitality businesses are on board with the changes. Large hotel chains like Marriott are seeking to eliminate the single-use bottles worldwide by 2020.
Kaminsky’s bill will be looked at when lawmakers reconvene in January 2020.
