New York to ban plastic toiletry bottles in hotels beginning next year

Hotel guests in New York will no longer receive complimentary mini toiletries beginning next year.

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, hotels and motels with 50 rooms or more in New York will no longer be able to provide any small plastic bottles containing a hospitality personal care product. This includes mini shampoos, conditioners, body washes and lotions that are in plastic containers with less than a 12-ounce capacity.

The measure will roll out for hotels and motels with less than 50 rooms on Jan. 1, 2026.

The bill was originally introduced in 2019 by former state Sen. Todd Kaminsky and was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021 as part of a package of environmental protection legislation. The restrictions were scheduled to take effect in 2023 and 2024, but lobbyists in the hotel industry pushed for a delay so hotel owners could use their stock of plastic bottles they had already paid for.

NY lawmaker wants ban on plastic toiletry bottles in hotels

"By restricting hotels from providing these small bottles used for personal care products, the state will take another important step in combating single-use plastic pollution," Kaminsky wrote.

The law is part of a broader plan by New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) called "Waste Reduction and Recycling for Businesses." The plan lays out waste reduction and recycling policies and programs -- some voluntary and some legally required -- for businesses to follow to positively impact the environment.

California passed a similar law in 2019 that took effect last year.

For any residual inventory of small plastic containers, the DEC recommends hotels donate the bottles to a charitable organization or look for organizations that recycle hotel soap and amenities, such as Clean the World and Rock and Wrap It Up!

A hotel that violates this law will receive a warning notice for the first violation, detailing the hotel's requirement to correct the violation within thirty days from the date the notice is sent. A hotel will be fined $250 for the first violation after receiving a warning and failing to correct the violation within 30 days and $500 for any following violation in the same year. The money collected will be given to the Environmental Protection Fund.

This new law as well as consumer preferences for sustainable amenities will result in the gradual replacement of single-use plastic toiletries with alternatives, such as refillable dispensers, in hotel rooms.