SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — If you’re staying in an Illinois hotel, you won’t find those complementary mini-bottles of shampoo waiting in your room anymore soon.
A new law, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last month, will ban hotels in the state from providing small, single-use plastic bottles containing personal-care products to lodgers staying at a hotel or guests using a hotel’s public bathroom.
The law, called the Small Plastic Bottle Act, says personal-care products include shampoo, hair conditioner and bath soap intended to be used in the shower and defines a small, single-use bottle as one under 6 ounces that’s not intended for re-use.
The law goes into effect beginning July 1, 2025, for hotels with 50 rooms or more and beginning Jan. 1, 2026, for hotels with less than 50 rooms.
The law provides for enforcement by a State’s Attorney or municipal attorney. A hotel in violation of the law would receive a written warning for a first offense and a fine of up to $1,500 for a second and subsequent offenses.
However, the law says a hotel may still provide personal-care products in small, single-use plastic bottles at no charge to a person, but only upon request at a place other than a room or public bathroom.
According to Illinois Policy, state hotels will be expected to transition to refillable containers when the law goes into effect. Illinois Policy also notes that Washington, New York and California have enacted similar laws, and that the Illinois General Assembly previously had a bill intended to ban Styrofoam containers, but only a partial ban passed that applies to just state facilities and agencies.