Marriott to get rid of small plastic toiletries in all its hotels by next year

Move will save half a billion bottles from disappearing into landfill

Marriott (Marriott)

Marriott will get rid of single-use toiletries from its guestrooms by next December, representing the latest hotel brand to ditch plastic amenities.

The hotel chain will replace single-use bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel with bulk-size pump-topped bottles at most of its hotels by the end of 2020.

The move will save around half a billion small plastic bottles from going to landfill, Marriott said, the equivalent of more than 700,000kg of plastic. The move will represent a 30 per cent reduction in the amount of plastic the hotel uses.

The larger bottles, which will also be recyclable, will contain the same amount of product as between 10 and 12 tiny bottles.

Marriott has already rolled out larger amenities at 1,000 of its North America hotels, in properties including Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Fairfield by Marriott and TownePlace Suites.

“This is our second global initiative aimed at reducing single-use plastics in just over a year, which underscores how important we believe it is to continuously find ways to reduce our hotels’ environmental impact. It’s a huge priority for us,” said Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International.

“Our guests are looking to us to make changes that will create a meaningful difference for the environment while not sacrificing the quality service and experience they expect from our hotels.”

The brand is also looking at ways to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the rest of the guestrooms, it said.

In July, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced it would ban mini plastic toiletries in an effort to reduce plastic waste.

IHG announced that it would instal bulk-size amenities in the bathrooms of its 843,000 rooms around the world by 2021.

The American company, which owns brands including Holiday Inn, InterContinental and Crowne Plaza, currently uses an average of 200 million bathroom miniatures each year.