If LD 1928 is passed, Maine will join at least four other states—New York, California, Illinois and Washington—that have phased out or are in the process of phasing out single-use plastic amenity bottles. A big tip of the hat to Rep. Lori Gramlich for sponsoring this legislation. I posted an article this past week about the initiative.
Support of the bill has been by no means across the board. The Maine House of Representatives voted just 72 to 70 and the Maine Senate voted 17 to 15 to advance the bill. There will be additional votes in each chamber before LD 1928 is sent to Governor Janet Mills for her consideration.
LD 1928 is one more attempt to stem the flow of millions of single-use plastic amenity bottles to the landfill and elsewhere. Many lodging establishments have already transitioned to larger pump bottles, on-the-wall dispensers, or even non-plastic single-use alternatives. Many of those have done so thanks to changing brand standards. Those using larger dispensing systems are doing more than helping the environment. They are also saving money and making housekeeping more efficient.
If LD 1928 passes, it will eventually have a significant impact. Last year there were 14.8 million tourists who visited Maine.
A Lot of Time to Comply
The amount of time to comply with LD 1928 would be quite comfortable. It would not take effect for lodgings with 50 or more units until January 1, 2030, and January 1, 2032, for locations with 13 to 49 units. Five to seven years is a long time to give hoteliers to adapt. Plus, the fine amount does not exactly light a fire of urgency—a civil violation will be issued with just a $100 fine.
Hopefully, LD 1928 will inspire more legislators across the U.S. like Rep. Lori Gramlich to sponsor similar legislation.
For my article I reached out to Hospitality Maine, that state’s voice for the lodging, restaurant and hospitality industry, and they said, “no comment.” I also reached out to other impacted stakeholders but did not hear back.
Balancing Different Opinions
State and other associations understandably have members with different opinions on the single-use plastic amenity bottle issue. Interestingly, in an article about LD 1928 in The Morning Sentinel, there was mention of rationale for opposing the bill. Some said it would be a burden for businesses and would disadvantage the hospitality industry by creating more inconvenience for visitors. One representative went so far as to say that visitors may choose not to go to Maine because of the plastic bottle restrictions. Ahem, I really doubt that.
“I am not comfortable using a big bottle that’s a share-type bottle, regardless of what the intent of it is,” one Maine state representative said. “I prefer the little, easy, clean, efficient ones, and believe most people do.” Of course, there was no mention of any studies to back up that point of view.
The horse long ago left the barn about the hazards of single-use plastic amenity bottles. That said, more education is still clearly needed about the downstream problems associated with these mini plastic bottles. We still have a long way to go.
What are your thoughts? I can be reached at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
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