Head’s up, travelers: Your days of using those tiny free toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash at Illinois hotels are numbered.
According to the Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act — a new Illinois law signed into effect last month by Gov. J.B. Pritzker — hotels will soon be banned from providing single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products like lotion or shower gel to sleeping guests.
The law also applies to all bottles in guest rooms and public restrooms that contain personal care products and are smaller than 6 ounces and not intended for re-use.
The law does state hotels may provide personal care products in small plastic bottles to guests upon request, but only in places other than a sleeping room or public hotel bathroom.
Hotels that violate the law would receive a written warning for the first violation, and could face a civil penalty of up to $500 for violations thereafter.
The new law will go into effect July 1, 2025, in hotels with 50 rooms or more, and Jan. 1, 2026, in hotels with less than 50 rooms.
The law, similar to those recently adopted in other states, including New York, is meant to reduce excessive plastic use in hotels. In 2019, Marriott, one of the world’s largest hotel chains, announced it would phase out miniature plastic toiletry bottles in an effort to be more eco-friendly.