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Marriott Hotels will now remove the miniature plastic bottles of body wash, shampoo and conditioner from its 7,000+ hotels. Before you applaud this environmental effort, think, why were sealed mini-bottles a thing in the first place?
Ah yes, because it only takes one gross inhabitant of a hotel room to ruin your trip.
Marriott isn’t switching to a wall dispenser. It’s replacing smaller shampoo bottles with bigger shampoo bottles, as you can see in their video of attractive people dancing in the shower.
Marriott Hotels Removing Miniature Toiletries From Its Rooms
Here’s what Marriott posted on their official website. I’ll comment after but you might figure it out before then.
“A typical large, pump-topped bottle contains the same amount of product as about 10 to 12 tiny, single-use bottles. Because tiny bottles are not usually recycled, they end up in the hotels’ trash bins – generating refuse that will never truly decompose in landfills. In addition to allowing guests to use as much of a product as they need, the larger bottles are also recyclable along with other basic containers, such as plastic soda bottles.”
So… let’s break it down. The issue was, guests chuck the little bottles in the little trash bin the bathroom. Simple solution: the cleaning staff which uses plastic gloves could reach in and put those bottles into recycling instead. Or, better, each bathroom could have a sign that says please place used mini-bottles in the recycling bin we provide.
Marriott says a large pump-topped bottle is equal to 12 single-use bottles. Okay, great. So now I have to trust that the last 12 random strangers in that hotel room aren’t going to contaminate the bottle. Sure, it’s unlikely and maybe I’m paranoid. But I’ve seen way too many videos where they wave a blacklight in a hotel room and it shows disturbing types of bacteria.
Let’s look at “allowing guests to use as much of a product as they need.” Yeah, that was never an issue. I don’t ever recall asking the cleaning staff for another mini-shampoo and having them say, “Sorry, you’re over your daily hygiene limit.”
There’s a reason why consumable products are sealed. Statistically, it’s unlikely your bottle will be tampered with. But then again, no one wants to be a statistic.
Two Eco-Friendly Solutions and One That’s Not Nice for Marriott
1 – My favorite solution: Buy your own empty reusable mini-bottles that can go through airport security and fill them up at home with the toiletry products you actually like, instead of relying on whatever brand you happen to get at the hotel.
2 – Buy bar soap and bar shampoo (yes, that’s a thing!) and you can bring as much as you want in your carry-on luggage.
3 – The make-Marriott-pay-more solution: Ask the cleaning staff for a new bottle. Tell them yours is empty. I’m fairly sure they’ll give it to you.
But Will the Marriott Mini-Fridge Still Sell You Single-Use Plastic Beverages?
I mean, there should be a big gallon-size plastic bottle of drinking water that we can all share instead of 10 for-sale single-use bottles that are bad for the environment. Just sayin’.
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How do you feel about the new Marriott policy?
Platinum member for life-want little bottles back. Too many weirdos out there.
Guess I’ll start bringing my own shampoo etc. I don’t like the thought of touching all that stuff that was used by someone else.
They already do this at Fairfields they are bottles that are locked into a case and they can’t be opened without a key. If someone is this much of a Germaphobe you have no business traveling anyway
I’m sure that the decision has more to do with Marriott saving money and the PR of doing something green than actually helping the environment. That said, I generally applaud any effort to cut down on single use plastics. It will only make a small difference, but we need to do a whole bunch of things like this in addition to bigger changes if we’re ever going to counteract the damages we’re doing to the environment. Plus I have a fetish for making love to full size bottles of shampoo so it’s a win-win in my book.
Grow up. You can bring your own shampoo or use the stuff from the dispenser. Like you would at a high end gym. Or to wash your hands in any public bathroom. Live with it.
Yep, good point. That’s definitely another solution.
I think it’s more an issue with cost cutting than environmental stewardship, as they’d like us to believe. I had some mischievous person put ketchup or BBQ sauce into the shampoo bottle once. Now I am paranoid and check before I pump… But still, who knows what else might be in there? I would be happier if the hotels compensate their savings by providing a perk elsewhere, like free bottled water or a welcome treat.