NY Becomes Second State in the Nation to Reduce Plastic Waste in Hotels

ALBANY, NY -- Governor Kathy Hochul made New York the second state in the nation to eliminate millions of single-use bottles in hotel rooms. Bill S543/A5082 prohibits hotels and motels with more than 50 rooms from providing single-use plastic toiletry bottles smaller than 12 ounces in guest rooms. The hotels are expected to switch to larger, refillable dispensers to reduce both the amount of unused liquids discarded and the amount of plastic waste generated during every guest visit.

The following is a statement by Eric Goldstein, Senior Attorney and New York City Environment Director at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“Hochul’s signature on this bill is an important step for New York State to address the plastic pollution crisis. Not only is plastic litter pervasive in our rivers, streams, and environment, but reducing single-use plastics is vital to fight climate change because plastic is a major source of carbon emissions and financially ties us to the fossil fuel industry. Bill S543/A5082 will tackle the ever-growing problem associated with plastic waste and will prevent tens of millions of plastic bottles from becoming a waste burden in New York every year.”

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.