The hotel firm says it is expanding its scheme to replace small plastic shampoo, conditioner and bath gel bottles with larger pump bottles.

To date, around 1,000 Marriott properties in North America have made the switch. Marriott now expects “most” of its other hotels to follow suite by December 2020.

When fully implemented, the initiative will prevent around 500 million bathroom miniatures – approximately 770 tons of plastics – going to landfill. The move will reduce Marriott’s current amenity plastic usage by around 30% annually.

Marriott’s pledge follows a similar move by fellow hotel giant IHG late last month.

“This is our second global initiative aimed at reducing single-use plastics in just over a year, which underscores how important we believe it is to continuously find ways to reduce our hotels’ environmental impact,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott International president and chief executive.

“Our guests are looking to us to make changes that will create a meaningful difference for the environment while not sacrificing the quality service and experience they expect from our hotels.”

More than 20% of Marriott International’s 7,000-plus properties already operate pump bottles instead of plastic miniatures.

Marriott says a typical pump bottle contains around 10 to 12 times the same product as a miniature, many of which are not typically recycled, and will reduce wastage of the product itself – shampoo, conditioner and bath and shower gel.