SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — One Central New York environmental group thinks banning small plastic hotel toiletry bottles in New York State is a step in the right direction.
A New York State senator proposed legislation to ban hotels in New York State from giving small single-use toiletry bottles to hotel guests and instead replace them with refillable dispensers in the hotel rooms. The Marriott Hotel chain has already announced that it will be phasing out single use plastic bottles within the next few years.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment works on campaigns protecting land, air and water quality of the earth. Hanna Ring, program coordinator for CCE, said this legislation will help keep plastic out of waterways.
“Plastic pollution is definitely a huge issue, even though we only use these products like these toiletries for one night or the course of just a shower, its impacts are for thousands of years, if not forever,” Ring said.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment is most likely going to lobby for this legislation in Albany once the new session starts in January, said Ring.
“Having legislation on the state level is really going to help address this huge issue where millions and millions of these tiny bottles are entering our waste stream every year,” Ring said.
Tom Fernandez, the chief communications officer for the Woodbine Group, which owns Hotel Skyler, The Genesee Grande Hotel and the Parkview Hotel in Syracuse, said all the hotels use single use bottles but they are made of mostly compostable or recyclable material. The Woodbine Group hotels will be transitioning to using bulk dispensers but are still looking at other options.
Ring said it’s great that hotels in the area are cooperating on this proposed legislation.
“I think that this is a really good example of how business and the environment can come together on an issue,” Ring said.
Ring also agreed that mounted bulk containers on the wall is the right decision.
“Toiletries in hotels are small little things that are completely unnecessary, especially when you can have refillable containers right there on the wall,” Ring said.
When asked about how hotel guests will feel about this change, Ring said hotel guests will have to move past the expectation of having the small bottles in their rooms.
“It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment period, but overall I don’t think this is really going to have a huge impact on consumers,” Ring said.
