Small Toiletry Bottle Bans

Description:

As indicated in this Toolbox webpage: Overview: Reducing Climate Impact from Plastics Lifecycle, plastics production accounts for roughly 5.3% of total global climate emissions. Between emissions associated with production and end-of-life waste processing, and the proliferation of post-consumer waste plastic in the environment, the climate and environmental impacts of plastics are significant and indisputable. These long-lasting impacts accrue both globally and locally, but can be meaningfully reduced by both high-level international agreements and focused local actions. One pertinent example of the latter is the banning of small toiletry bottles.

Impact of Plastic on Regional Communities
Beyond the issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution at a global scale, plastic waste also has very tangible regional impacts. Despite the existence of functioning recycling streams, considerable quantities of plastic waste continue to be “leaked” from the manufacturing and waste management processes. Most of the leakage occurs as illegal dumping, litter, or international exportation of plastic waste to countries that mismanage the waste, allowing it to leak into the environment. A 2022 National Academy of Sciences report (see Additional Information link below) estimated U.S. leakage at 3 to 5 percent of the plastic waste generated. A little more than half of this leaked waste is visible macroplastic that we see every day in our communities or favorite vacation destinations as litter, floating debris in lakes and coastal waters, or washed up on beaches; slightly less than half occurs as microplastics that remain largely unseen.

Macroplastic accumulation in marine environments often leads to serious economic repercussions on the communities that rely on them as a result of both practical and aesthetic environmental damage. Tourism in particular suffers greatly from the presence of plastic debris that enters marine and coastal ecosystems. Understandably, visitors prefer cleaner beaches with less risk of injury from debris, and will direct their tourism and local spending accordingly. A 2019 study conducted by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) evaluated the relationship between marine debris and daily recreational use in Gulf Coast beaches in Alabama, Atlantic Ocean beaches in Delaware and Maryland, Lake Erie beaches in Ohio, and Pacific Ocean beaches in Orange County, California. Impacts on the number of daily beach visits, associated visitor spending and regional job creation were estimated for cases of either doubling and eliminating marine debris. The estimated annual number of beach recreation days was greatest for Orange County, CA beaches, where the NOAA study estimated that a doubling of marine debris would result in an annual loss of 4.6 million recreational days at the beach. This translates to a regional loss of $414 million in tourist spending and the loss of 4,300 jobs. Conversely, the complete elimination of marine debris from Orange County was estimated to result in a gain of $187 million in tourist spending and 19,000 jobs. Similar impacts were observed in other coastal regions studied.

Why Ban Small Toiletry Bottles?
In 2018, Santa Cruz County, California adopted legislation banning small toiletry bottles in an effort to protect the local tourism economy. According to Zach Friend, the 2nd District Santa Cruz County supervisor who brought the legislation forward, “Tourism is one of our leading industries, and many of our visitors come for Monterey Bay and our pristine beaches. Single-use plastics have dire consequences for these ecosystems and threaten our local economy, and we must act locally to protect them.”

It’s especially important to restrict small toiletry bottles in particular, because such restrictions address a specific gap in the plastic waste management regimens of many states. Nora Nickum–VP of Conservation Programs and Partnerships with the Seattle Aquarium involved with the passage of Washington state single-use plastics legislation explained that such bottles are often too small to be caught in the filters of conventional recycling processes. The Association of Plastic Recyclers confirms that automated material recovery facilities (MRFs) remove all small plastic packaging less than 2 inches in two dimensions, confusing such materials as unwanted, non-plastic contaminants rather than recyclable materials. These are filtered out via sorting screens and subsequently landfilled, preventing these numerous small plastics from being properly recycled.

How are Industries Responding?
In most cases, U.S. hotel providers appear to be complying with restrictions by replacing conventional small toiletry bottles with large refillable dispensers and pump bottles. In 2019, Marriott International announced an expanded initiative to replace small toiletry bottles with pump bottles, an effort already underway since 2018 for four of their brands. Similarly, the same year International Hotel Groups announced a transition to large format bulk dispensers, as did Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Hilton.

This shift may also prove advantageous for the hotels themselves, given that the provision of small toiletry bottles presents a variety of labor and cost issues. Already in 2010, the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that replacing small bottles with refillable dispensers cut down on waste disposal costs, kept guests from taking home bottles containing unused product, and improved housekeeping efficiency by removing the need to constantly dispose of numerous empty bottles. Bulk liquids also proved to be cheaper to supply than individually packaged small bottles.

What legislation exists?
Santa Cruz County, California was the first locality to pass legislation restricting the use of small hotel toiletry bottles in 2018. Following this, four states in the United States so far have passed state-level toiletry bottle restrictions: California, New York, Washington and Illinois. All utilize a two-step deadline, with hotels larger than fifty rooms being restricted first, followed by all hotels a year later. This is meant to permit flexibility in allowing hotels to reduce their stocks in anticipation of the restrictions being implemented. Existing legislation generally defines small plastic bottles as those with volumes no larger than 6 to 12 ounces and intended to be non-reusable. Penalties for violations are variable from state to state, with each adopting its own model to decide fines for establishments in violation of small bottle restrictions.

Examples of Adopted and Implemented City or County Legislation

Bellingham, WA: Agenda Bill 22596 (Ordnance to Reduce Single Use Plastic Waste…)
Adopted as Chapter 9.32 of the Bellingham Municipal Code on May 24, 2021; effective July 31, 2022 for single-use personal care products.

Santa Cruz County, CA: Ord 528 (Hospitality Plastic Pollution Reduction)
Adopted as Chapter 5.49 of the Santa Cruz County Code on December 4, 2018; effective for all hotels and vacation rentals on December 31, 2020.

Examples of Adopted and Implemented State Legislation

California: AB-1162 (Lodging establishments: personal care products: small plastic bottles)
Adopted as Chapter 6, Part 3, Division 30 of the California Public Resources Code on October 9, 2019; effective for hotels with more than 50 rooms on January 1, 2023 and one year later for hotels with less than 50 rooms.

Illinois: 415 Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) 195/ Small Single-Use Plastic Act.
Adopted as Small Single-Use Plastic Act on August 9, 2024; effective for hotels with more than 50 rooms on July 1, 2025 and on January 1, 2026 for hotels with less than 50 rooms.

New York: A5082 (Small Plastic Bottle Hospitality Personal Care Product Restriction)
Adopted as Environmental Conservation Chapter 43-B, Article 27, Title 32 on December 22, 2021; effective for hotels with more than 50 rooms on January 1, 2025 and one year later for hotels with less than 50 rooms.

Washington: HB 1085:2023-24 Single-use plastic packaging. Prohibition on use by a lodging establishment.
Adopted as HB 1085 2024-24 on April 20, 2023; effective for hotels with more than 50 rooms on January 1, 2027 and one year later for hotels with less than 50 rooms.

Rationale for Toiletry Bottle Bans

Santa Cruz, CA:
Protect the Monterey Bay ecosystem.
Prevent economic harm to local tourism dependent on the Monterey Bay.
Prevent plastic waste in public spaces from endangering public health and environment.

Bellingham, WA:
Reduce waste stream burden and cost.
Prevent storm drain clogging.
Protect local marine environments.

Washington state:
Protect Washington’s Pacific Northwest estuary and streams and its marine life.
Protect Washington’s salmon population.

Summary
Ultimately, legislation to ban small, single-use plastic toiletry and personal care bottles offers immediate environmental benefits on both a local and regional scale in addition to reducing climate-changing emissions resulting from plastics production, use, and disposal. Such legislation has been adopted and implemented both locally by city and county governments and through state-wide bans. The hotel industry–a top consumer of small toiletry bottles–has generally embraced such legislation due to savings realized from reduced labor and waste disposal costs. Such legislation is a win-win-win for local communities, the hotel industry and our global climate.

Goal: 

• Reduce GHG emissions from the production, use, and disposal of plastics.
• Reduced environmental pollution and related health and economic impacts from plastics lifecycle.