Soon, visitors to hotels in Europe will not see individual mini-bubbles with shampoos and gels in the bathrooms. The authorities are pushing for a global reduction in plastic waste.
The European Commission has proposed a ban on toiletries in European hotels as part of new rules to reduce waste. The latter prohibits hoteliers from offering their customers disposable shampoo bottles, body lotions, and shower gels.
Instead, hotels will now have to use large, reusable, inverted dispenser containers, or guests will have to bring their hygiene products.
Each European country produces an average of almost 180 kilograms of plastic waste. A European Commission report notes that packaging is one of the primary uses for plastic materials: 40% of plastic and 50% of paper used in the EU go to packaging. And if no action is taken, these numbers will continue to rise. In 2023, packaging waste will increase by 19 percent, and plastic waste will increase by 46 percent.
The new changes aim to stop this process as well as encourage consumers to opt for reusable packaging.
The move is part of the European Green Deal’s Circular Economy Action Plan to make packaging recyclable within the next eight years.
To encourage the reuse of packaging, service providers across industries are offering reusable alternatives such as media, email receipts, and takeaway drinks.
Thus, single-use packaging for drinks and food, fruits and vegetables will be banned, as well as miniature shampoo bottles and other “excesses” in hotels.
This proposal will soon be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council before a decision is made on how and when it will be implemented.
The Council and the European Parliament intend to reach an agreement on amendments to the EU emissions legislation that will address the aviation sector. According to the document, the emission monetization system will be applied to European domestic flights.