HOTELS SHOULD BE banned from providing mini-toiletries in plastic bottles as part of wider efforts to reduce plastic waste, Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has said. 

The Dublin North West representative has said that such a measure at hotels, guesthouses and holiday rentals has the potential to save thousands of pounds of plastic waste being generated annually.

His comments come in the wake of the strong performance of the Green Party in the recent local and European elections. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this high vote for the Greens was a “very clear message from the public that they want us to do more on climate action”. 

Individual hotel chains have made efforts to reduce plastic use in their rooms, such as Marriott which last year began to swap the plastic bottles for in-shower dispensers in over 400 of its hotels.

A move to totally ban them is currently being voted on in the US State of California, the New York Times reported this week, and Rock says this is an opportunity for Ireland to be a European leader in this area.

“With a booming tourism industry the savings in waste terms to be garnered here are immense,” he said.

The use of plastic bags in Ireland reduced by 90% after the levy was introduced, this is the type of radical change that Ireland needs to consistently pursue.

He said that alternatives are available and the change could be phased in so as to not penalise businesses “unnecessarily”. The Fine Gael TD also said he believes the move would be welcomed by the Irish public with open arms.

“Hotels no longer provide ashtrays in hotel rooms due to a massive cultural shift in recent years – I believe single use plastics in rooms will be viewed as something just as redundant in the coming years and it is up to us as legislators to ensure this happens as quickly as possible,” he added.