Exciting news! New York is the second state, after California, to ban small toiletry bottles (12 ounces and less) from hotels. Bills S543 and A5082—led by State Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assemblymember Steve Englebright — were passed in April. Hotels with more than 50 rooms have until January 1, 2024, to comply. Smaller hotels have until January 1, 2025.
Hand Sanitizer In’s and Out’s
Hand sanitizers have become a part of our everyday lives. But it is important to understand when and how to properly use hand sanitizer.
Based on data from a number of studies, the CDC recommends:
If soap and water are not readily available (as hand washing is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations), use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, and wash with soap and water as soon as you can.
The FDA recommends at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol alcohol. The FDA has recalled and issued warnings against hand sanitizers that contain methanol alcohol which can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested.
Do not use hand sanitizer if your hands are visibly dirty or greasy (especially organic materials) —for example, after gardening, playing outdoors, fishing, or camping. If a handwashing station is available, wash your hands with soap and water instead.
Supervise young children when they use hand sanitizer to prevent swallowing alcohol, especially in schools and childcare facilities.
Put enough sanitizer on your hands to cover all surfaces and rub your hands together until they feel dry (this should take around 20 seconds).
Do NOT rinse or wipe off the hand sanitizer before it’s dry; it may not work well against germs.
A study from 2017 published in the Journal of Hospital Infection shows no difference in antibacterial efficacy between liquid, gel and foam provided that the specific product passes the required efficacy and safety standards.
Think about placing a hand sanitizer dispenser in the following locations:
Outside offices where employees and visitors can sanitize before they touch the door handle and inside by surfaces where multiple people may be touching the same surfaces but where soap and water are not readily available.
Outside retail stores before guests touch the surfaces inside the store.
Outside homes on a gate or at the entrance so family members and guests can sanitize their hands before they touch door and gate handles.
In public places in any hotel where guests do not have access to soap and water but where they may have to touch surfaces such as elevators and the front door.
Outside where people may be touching the same surfaces but where there may be no soap and water available, such as gas stations, public transportation, atms, golf courses, picnic areas and mailboxes.
Hand sanitizer can play an effective role in complementing your regular hand washing routine. Using soap and water where possible and hand sanitizer where not, will allow you to minimize the spreading of unwanted germs and improve your chances of staying healthy.
Kure Products Launches Hand Sanitizer Dispensers for Home, Hotels and Office
Mill Valley -- Kure Products, manufacturer of high-end stainless and aluminum amenity dispensers, is launching hand sanitizer dispensers to help homeowners, hotels and businesses give their guests a beautiful and functional hand sanitizer experience.
COVID-19 has made washing and sanitizing hands a necessary part of everyone’s daily routine. Kure's dispensers work indoors and outdoors providing people the option to sanitize their hands before opening a gate to a home, an elevator to an office/hotel room or front doors anywhere. Kure offers discerning homeowners, luxury hoteliers and businesses an elegant alternative to the plastic dispensers that look like they hung in a gym in the 1970’s.
Kure’s sleek metal vessels stand out for their sophisticated beauty, sustainability and ease of use. Founders Jan McDougal and Cindi Frame started Kure to help luxury hotels do the right thing and support the environment by converting to dispensers. Frame says, “The genuine need for the community to start to consistently sanitize their hands inspired us to pivot and launch hand sanitizer dispensers that would not only provide a necessary function but also a beautiful fixture that looks like it belongs in luxury environments.”
Key features and details:
Works with gel-based hand sanitizers
Fully customizable and tamper-proof
Height: 11.125", Diameter: 2.5", Volume: 12 ounces
About Kure Products
Kure Products is characterized by a socially responsible business model and elegant, sustainable designs that do not compromise on function. We produce fully customizable stainless and aluminum bath and hand sanitizer dispensers that create luxurious, sustainable experiences. Currently installed in high-end hotels such as Paseo de la Riviera, Hotel Le Crystal and the Spa at Four Seasons, Boston, Kure Products is a pioneer in sustainable hospitality. Kure Products is a women-owned business founded in 2015. Visit www.kureproducts.com to learn more.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill to eliminate small amenity bottles from hotels
California is paving the way towards a more sustainable world by eliminating small plastic bottles from hotels. AB 1162 was signed on October 9, 2019, and will take effect in 2023, for hotels with more than 50 rooms and in 2024 for lodging establishments with less than 50 rooms.
IHG makes bold move to replace all "bathroom miniatures" with bulk amenities by 2021.
On Tuesday, July 30, IHG announced that it plans to replace all “bathroom miniatures” with bulk amenities across all of its 17 brands. With this announcement, IHG becomes the first of the large chain hotel companies to make this ban company-wide. This decision affects 843,000 guest rooms in more than 5,600 hotels.
Kure Products Introduces Stainless, Aluminum Amenity Dispenser
SAN FRANCISCO—Kure Products is launching into the hotel shower dispenser market just as California Assembly Bill No. 1162 makes progress toward banning small amenity bottles from hotel rooms by 2023. Following the lead of Santa Cruz County, California law makers intent on reducing plastics have focused on single-use bottles of bath products as more than 500,000 amenity bottles end up in North American landfills every day. By switching from small bottles to bulk amenity dispensers, a 100-room hotel can save more than 1,000 pounds of plastic every year.
Catering to luxury hoteliers and discerning guests, Kure dispensers stand out for their sophisticated look and ease of use. Most competing dispensers still house plastic bottles that are bad for the environment and degrade over time, while Kure’s sleek metal vessels are more sustainable and ergonomic for both guests and housekeepers. Francine Talmadge, GM at Hideaway Santa Barbara, a recent customer, agrees, “The Kure dispensers are a dream. Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to refill. And so stylish. I love them.”
Founders Jan McDougal and Cindi Frame started Kure because luxury properties that wanted to do the right thing and support the environment by converting to dispensers did not have an elegant option that would delight their guests. “We knew we could do so much better than what we were seeing in the market—and after a thoughtful two year R&D process where we collected input from guests, housekeeping staff and hotel managers, we’ve engineered and piloted a dispenser that is more sustainable, more elegant and more functional,” said McDougal. “Now that hotels are looking to transition to dispensers, they have an option that their guests and housekeepers will love and that they can fully customize to support their luxury brands.”
Kure Amenity Dispenser Details:
Sleek stand-alone aluminum and stainless design; no plastic bottles.
Fully customizable digital printing; Stock designs also available.
Easy to open, tamper-proof lid.
Hygienic internal pump that does not get exposed to germs when refilling.
Height: 11.125″, Diameter: 2.5″.
Volume: 12 ounces.
https://www.greenlodgingnews.com/kure-products-introduces-stainless-aluminum-amenity-dispenser/
Bill being proposed in California to ban single-use toiletry bottles in all hotels
California Assembly Member Ash Kalra of San Jose is proposing a bill, known as AB 1162, to ban small toiletry bottles from more than 10,000 hotels in California. If passed, the law would go into effect in 2023. The bill, known as AB 1162, follows the Santa Cruz ban that was passed late last year.
The E.U. bans single-use plastics
The E.U. parliament voted to ban 10 plastic products, including single-use straws, single-use plastic cutlery, stirrers, plastic plates and balloon sticks. The legislation will take effect in 2021.
Santa Cruz Bans Single-Use Plastic Toiletry Bottles
Great news for the environment! In a landmark decision, Santa Cruz County in California passed an ordinance, which takes effect December 2020, to ban single-use toiletry bottles from hotels and rental properties. This is the first ordinance of its kind passed in the United States as Santa Cruz acknowledges it needs to do more to protect the Monterey Bay’s ecosystem. 2nd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend stated, "Single-use plastics have dire consequences for these ecosystems and threaten our local economy, and we must act locally to protect them."
"There will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050." - Ellen MacArthur, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Robert Traydon writes yet another provocative piece on the use of single use plastics (such as mini shampoo bottles) leading to one of the greatest risks facing our environment today. Plastic is making its way into our food chain because 32% of all plastic packaging finds its way into the environment as "mismanaged plastic waste."