Marriott to Eliminate Single-Use Shower Toiletry Bottles Worldwide

BETHESDA, MA—Marriott International is expanding an initiative to replace tiny, single-use toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel in guestroom showers with larger, pump-topped bottles.

To date, the company has already rolled out larger bottles at about 1,000 properties in North America, and now expects most of its other hotels to make the switch by December 2020. When fully implemented across the globe, Marriott International’s expanded toiletry program is expected to prevent about 500 million tiny bottles annually from going to landfills; that’s about 1.7 million pounds of plastic, a 30% annual reduction from current amenity plastic usage.

“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,” said Arne Sorenson, president/CEO of Marriott International. “It’s a huge priority for us. 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.”

Already, over 20% of Marriott International’s more than 7,000 properties now offer larger-pump-topped bottles in guestroom showers, doing away with single-use bottles that often end up in landfills.

The move expands Marriott International’s early 2018 initiative to switch single-use shower toiletry bottles to larger bottles with pump dispensers in five brands: Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Fairfield by Marriott, and TownePlace Suites. In addition, four of Marriott International’s brands—Aloft Hotels, Element by Westin, Four Points and Moxy Hotels—previously implemented the pump-dispenser toiletry concept, while a fifth—AC by Marriott—is well on its way to making the change.

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.