Illinois to soon ban mini shampoo bottles in hotel rooms

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGN) — When staying in a hotel room, you may find yourself collecting a complimentary "souvenir" for your next vacation: the mini soap bottles.

Whether it's the soap, shampoo, conditioner, or maybe even lotion, it can be hard to resist tucking those into your suitcase.

If you're staying in an Illinois hotel in the coming year, though, you may not find any of those mini bottles waiting for you.

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 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.

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.