To reduce packaging waste, that is 40% of all the plastic in Europe, the European Commission bans single-use plastic and plastic shampoo bottles in hotels
The new regulation on packaging by the European Commission bans some types of unnecessary plastic packaging, such as single-use packaging for food and drinks (sugar sachets and single-dose sauces), single-use plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables (with a weight lower than 1,5 kg), mini hotel cosmetic and toiletries products (such as shampoos and soaps). The goals that the European Commission has adopted are: prevent the production of packaging waste, promote reuse and make all packagings recyclable before 2030. According to the last European Commission’s report, about 40% of all the plastic and 50% of the paper in the EU are used in packaging. Without an intervention in the European territory, there will be an additional increase of 19% of packaging waste before 2030.
New banning in Europe: goodbye to shampoo bottles and soap in hotels
Hotels will have to say goodbye permanently to single-use plastic, therefore to 50 ml bottles of shampoo and shower gel, an initiative that the accomodation facilities that are a part of Ecobnb have long implemented, trying to reduce unnecessary packaging. The eco-friendly hotels that are part of Ecobnb are in fact provided with reusable dispensers for shampoos, shower gels and soaps. The same needs to happen in all the European accomodation facilities before 2040, that instead of single-use toiletry products, will have to use bigger dispensers and remove single-use mini cosmetic and toiletry products.
The aim of this measure is to reduce packaging waste by 15% per person for the citizens of each member state of the European Union before 2040, compared to the levels of 2018. This means reducing by 37% the amount of waste produced in the EU, compared to a scenario in which the regulation remains the same.
