Shanghai hotels no longer provide disposables automatically

Hotels in Shanghai will no longer automatically provide disposable daily necessities such as toothbrush, comb and shaver from July 1 as a regulation on household waste will come into effect in the city on the day, People's Daily reported.

Around 4.8 billion guests booked into 440,000 hotels in China in 2017, as per data. More than 70 percent of soaps are thrown away after being used once, a survey shows. Calculated by weight, each hotel throws away 2.5 kg disposable soaps every day and 440,000 hotels would throw away more than 400,000 tons of soaps every year. If each ton of soaps costs 20,000 yuan, that would be 8 billion yuan worth of soap.

Apart from soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, shampoo and bath foam are often discarded after one-time use. It's not only a waste of money, but also a burden for environment as many articles are non-degradable.

Over the years, many people have been calling for hotels not to provide disposable daily necessities. But some customers say not providing the items would cause them inconvenience.

A latest survey by Ctrip.com shows that more than 80 percent of clients back hotels not providing disposable daily necessities.