The single-use ban on hotel toiletries from 2030
From 1 January 2030, single-use packaging for cosmetics, hygiene and toiletry products intended for an individual hotel booking may no longer be placed on the market. That hits the little bottle in the bathroom, not the dispenser on the wall. This page sets out what the regulation actually says, what follows from it for your property and how to switch without a rush.
What the law says
The rule sits in the EU packaging regulation. It applies directly in every Member State and needs no national law to take effect. Three points are enough to read it correctly.
What is banned
- Single-use packaging for cosmetics, hygiene and toiletry products in the accommodation sector.
- Meaning packaging intended for an individual booking only and discarded before the next guest arrives.
- The text gives shampoo bottles, hand and body lotion bottles and sachets around bar soap as examples.
From when
- From 1 January 2030 this packaging may no longer be placed on the market, Article 25(1).
- The regulation itself already applies from 12 August 2026, the Annex V restriction bites later.
- By 12 February 2027 the Commission publishes guidelines explaining Annex V in more detail.
What the text does not say
- No size limit. Contrary to much of what is written, the adopted text names neither millilitres nor grams. What counts is the purpose of the packaging.
- No material. Point 5 of the Annex speaks of single-use packaging, not of plastic. Paper or glass change nothing.
- Not a word about dispensers. A container that is refilled and stays in the bathroom is, on this wording, not intended for an individual booking.
“Single-use packaging for cosmetics, hygiene and toiletry products for the use in the accommodation sector [...], intended for an individual booking only and intended to be discarded before the next guest arrives.”
Examples in the text: “Shampoo bottles, hand and body lotion bottles, sachets around bar soap”.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal of the EU of 22 January 2025. Read the official text on EUR-Lex
The key facts
| Legal act | Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste |
| Where it stands | Article 25(1) together with Annex V, point 5 |
| Deadline | 1 January 2030 |
| Affected | single-use packaging for cosmetics, hygiene and toiletry products in the accommodation sector, intended for an individual booking only |
| Examples in the text | shampoo bottles, hand and body lotion bottles, sachets around bar soap |
| Size limit | none, the text names neither millilitres nor grams |
| Material | not restricted, point 5 names no material |
| Regulation applies from | 12 August 2026, Article 71 |
| Guidelines | by 12 February 2027 from the Commission, Article 25(6) |
For the record: This page reproduces the regulation and is no substitute for legal advice. The authoritative version is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
What this means for a hotel
The text is addressed to those who place packaging on the market. For the property itself it has one simple consequence: the products standing in the room today will no longer be available on the market from 2030. Whoever has switched by then will not notice the deadline.
What disappears from the bathroom
- The 30 or 40 ml bottle of shampoo, shower gel or body lotion.
- The bar of soap in paper or film.
- On the wording, also toiletries such as dental kits or shower caps in individual packaging, when intended for one booking only.
- All of it regardless of material, so also in paper, glass or biodegradable plastic.
What stays and what comes in
- The dispenser in the bathroom, refilled and left in place when the guest changes.
- The refill container in the store, from which housekeeping tops up.
- The wall bracket that keeps the dispenser in place and secures it against removal.
- The brand the guest knows: Dove, Lux and TRESemmé come as 500 ml dispensers with 5 litre refills.
Transition period
Several years lie between today and the deadline. That is enough for one floor as a trial, one season with the dispenser and the switch of the whole property in one go. Start early and the refill routine and guest feedback settle in without pressure.
Remaining stock
The regulation governs placing on the market from 1 January 2030. What happens to stock a property bought before then, the text does not say explicitly. Commission guidelines explaining Annex V in more detail are announced for 12 February 2027 at the latest. To be safe, plan the run-down so that nothing is left in the store on the deadline.
Paper, glass, biodegradable plastic
Change nothing. Point 5 of the Annex names no material, only the purpose of the packaging. A bottle made of paper fibre that is discarded after one booking is affected just like one made of plastic.
The route to dispensers in four steps
The switch is not building work but a series of decisions. In this order it goes fastest.
Choose the line
Brand or own line, 500 ml or 300 ml, with or without body lotion. A sample pack in your own bathroom settles this faster than any data sheet.
Decide the mounting
Wall bracket or shelf. The bracket costs one drilled hole per dispenser and spares you the question of where the bottle stands after the room change.
Convert one floor
First one floor, then the property. Housekeeping learns the refill routine before every room depends on it.
Set up store and routine
Refills into the store, topping up into the floor round, one ordering rhythm per line. After that it runs like towels, without thinking.
The most common objection: “Our guests expect the little bottles.” What a guest actually notices is an empty or sticky dispenser, not the size of the container. A full, clean dispenser with a brand or a scent they can place meets the expectation.
The six lines at SerrentiS
All six are dispenser systems with refill containers. None relies on the single-use bottle in the room, none needs converting in 2030. Three bring the brand, three bring your own signature. The side-by-side table is on the overview page of the six lines, the day to day with dispenser and refill on the page about the dispenser system for the hotel bathroom.
Dove
Two fragrance lines, Hydrating Care and Cool Moisture, five products each. The brand the guest knows from their own bathroom.
- Dispenser500 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, white ABS
Lux
Six products in one scent, Lily and Bergamot, among them a hair and body wash that replaces two dispensers with one.
- Dispenser500 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, black ABS, lockable
TRESemmé
Five products of the Moisture Rich line in the black bottle with colour code. The salon brand in the guest bathroom.
- Dispenser500 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, black ABS, lockable
Argan
Liquid soap, hair and body wash and body lotion with argan oil. The own line with the complete set.
- Dispenser300 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, stainless steel
Dolce eVita
Liquid soap and hair and body wash. Two products for the standard bathroom, fewer items on the trolley.
- Dispenser300 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, stainless steel
Oliv One
Liquid soap and hair and body wash with a note of olive. One refill replaces one hundred and sixty bottles of 30 ml.
- Dispenser300 ml
- Refill5 litres
- Wall bracketyes, stainless steel
Choose today, done for 2030: Each of the six lines meets the wording of Annex V, because the dispenser stays in the bathroom and is refilled. What separates them is container, range and appearance, not the question of whether they are allowed from 2030.
Working out the cost per guest
The price per bottle is the wrong measure. What counts is the effort per guest and per room change, and there the dispenser moves almost every line. The table shows which items change, the figures come from your property.
| Cost item | Single-use miniatures | Dispenser with refill |
|---|---|---|
| Product per guest | one full set per booking, whether the guest opens it or not | only the amount the guest actually pumps |
| Packaging per guest | bottle, label, cap and often a carton per miniature | one refill for many fillings, the dispenser stays in service for years |
| Housekeeping handling | collect, discard, restock, at every change | check the level, top up when needed |
| Storage space | many small cartons of single products | a few refills per product |
| Waste | several items in the bin per departure | one empty refill after many fillings |
| Shrinkage | opened miniatures and guests taking them home | low, secured against removal with the wall bracket |
| Ordering | one article per product and size | two articles per line, dispenser and refill |
are filled by one 5 litre refill with the own lines Argan, Dolce eVita and Oliv One.
are filled by the same refill with Dove, Lux and TRESemmé.
per departure, because the dispenser stays in the bathroom and only the refill eventually runs empty.
With your figures: Number of rooms, occupancy and change rhythm are enough, then we work out demand and initial equipment for your property in detail. Tell us the line you have in mind, or have a sample pack sent first.
Common mistakes when switching
The switch rarely fails on the dispenser and almost always on the order of events. These are the points we see most often.
What goes wrong
- Waiting for the deadline and then converting the whole property in a week. Housekeeping does not learn the refill routine under pressure.
- Buying miniatures in paper or biodegradable plastic as a way out. Point 5 of the Annex knows no material.
- Putting dispensers on the shelf without a bracket. After the third room change it stands somewhere, and at some point it is gone.
- Using up remaining stock next to the new dispenser. It belongs on one floor or in one area, not in the same bathroom.
- A large first order without samples. Scent, pump and label belong in your own bathroom first.
- Putting the refill container in the room. It belongs in the store and on the trolley.
What works
- One floor as a trial, for one season, with feedback from housekeeping and reception.
- One wall bracket per dispenser, screwed in, where the guest reaches it with a wet hand.
- One ordering rhythm per line, tied to the floor round, not to the calendar.
- Remaining stock used up in one area, say the staff area or one room category, with a clear end date before 2030.
- The brand or the scent chosen deliberately, so the guest can place the container.
- Refilling as a task with a name: who, when, with what, and where the refill stands.
Switch before the deadline does it for you
Number of rooms, change rhythm and the line you have in mind are enough for a quotation and a sample pack. Free of charge and without obligation.
Common questions about the single-use ban
What purchasing and general managers ask us most often about the regulation.
