Breaking the Plastic Habit with GREEN SUITES’ EcoCents

Switching to Amenity Dispensers to Help End the Waste of Plastic in Lodging

As modern-day consumers, we now have the opportunity to stop using single-use plastic while vacationing thanks to refillable amenity dispensers. The plastic problem is a growing one and with countless landfills worldwide, plus the ever-expanding Great Pacific Garbage Patch, our mess is starting to build up around us. Hotel owners and management can have a big impact and help save massive amounts of plastic from our planet while also saving on their bottom line by making the switch.

Laura Parker, a member of National Geographic staff specializing in discussions around climate change & marine environments, said 8M of plastic wastes end up in oceans. She wrote in her plastic-pollution article, “Single-use plastics account for 40% of the plastic produced every year.” EcoWatch.com also reveals we discard about 185 pounds of plastic each year. From the accommodation industry standpoint, that’s 50,000 tiny bottles + over 20,000 half-used soaps being dumped in landfills each year. That’s just from ONE 100-room hotel. All that plastic, just from one hotel and their amenities depending on who you ask and what type of plastic it is, could take decades to a thousand of years to decompose.

As the world awakens to the plastic problem, the lodging industry is beginning to reconsider those plastic shampoo & conditioner bottles and more and more business owners are making the switch to hotel amenity dispensers, and some areas are even outlawing the tiny plastic bottles. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in October 2019 that bans California hotels from giving tiny plastic bottles of shampoo, soap, conditioner, or lotion to their guests. For hotels with 50+ rooms, this law takes effect on January 1, 2023, while for properties with less than 50 rooms it’s January 1, 2024. Violations will have a corresponding fine of $500 (first offense) and $2,000 (subsequent offenses). 

California’s plastic ban is the state’s answer to the worldwide clamor against single-use plastics across a wide range of consumer-facing industries — from plastic straws & forks in food chains to plastic shopping bags in small-to-large retail stores.  In February 2020, “New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order…banning the sale of single-use plastic beverage bottles on city-owned and -leased properties — which means the bottles could vanish from an area nearly equivalent to a quarter of the city. The move also bars city agencies from purchasing or selling beverages packaged in single-use plastic containers.”

While the bans may seem extreme to some, the switch can save money for hotel owners when they pick the right amenities distributor, and most guests now understand the need to lower waste. It’s something that Green Suites’ Hotel Solutions has been helping our customers do for years, with our EcoCents program. We supply attractive dispensers, in a variety of styles, and the highest quality of amenity brands. Simply pick your dispensers, and after that you could be spending as little as 19 cents-per-day, per-occupied room. You’ll only pay for the amenities you need, saving the wasted plastic and perfectly good soap, shampoo, conditioner, or lotion.

With the plastic-free future on our horizon, Green Suites’ Hotel Solutions is even more inspired to continue promoting sustainable hospitality practices. With the highest quality of dispensers, and amenity brands suitable to any level of luxury in the hospitality industry, our EcoCents Dispenser Program offers hoteliers a green advantage and a cost-efficient choice. 

In our three decades of service, feedback from general managers affirms that using refillable dispensers is highly advantageous as it lowers cost and is friendlier to nature. With the plastic bottle ban, switching to the dispenser system in lodgings truly is a sensible step. From the global-waste-crisis standpoint, the switch to top-quality dispensers will result in a 90%-range waste reduction from hotels.

As one of the forerunners in this eco-shift, Green Suites is a name you can trust for affordable, sturdy, and guest-friendly hotel dispensers with modern, elegant designs. We’ve been supplying top-of-the-line dispensers that make guests feel their bathroom amenities were hand-picked and well-thought-out. Our customized solutions truly add value to the guest experience, and being eco-friendly only adds to the appeal. Twenty-seven years of award-winning service backs up our brand!

Beyond helping your costs and inventory, with Greensuites EcoCents it’s easier to break the plastic habit!