Kudos to the Maine Legislature for advancing LD 1928, a bill that would gradually do away with single-use plastic toiletry bottles in most hotels and motels in Maine (“Maine hotels may be forced to stop using those small plastic bottles of shampoo,” Portland Press Herald, June 5).

Major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton have already made or have committed to making the switch to refillable containers. If enacted, this bill could keep some 73 million single-use plastic items out of Maine’s waste stream every year — a significant benefit for the environment, but also a potential cost savings for hotels and motels, as refillable containers can be more economical.

Maine’s beautiful coastline, rivers and lakes support 60,000 jobs and bring in more than $3.8 billion in tourism, fishing and recreation industries. All of that depends on protecting our environment. By reducing single-use plastics we can help protect our environment and our economy.

Using refillable shampoo and conditioner containers is no different than using refillable soap dispensers in restrooms or hand sanitizer in doctor’s offices. Rep. Mike Soboleski’s squeamishness notwithstanding, most of us are accustomed to and comfortable with using such dispensers, which may be why a majority of U.S. voters support policies to replace such single-use containers with refillable containers, according to a recent poll by Oceana.

LD 1928 is a commonsense step to reducing our plastic waste. It should pass and Gov. Mills should sign it.

Sandy Scholar
Greenville Junction