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Rated Hotels in Beijing to Scrap Disposable Toiletries

Tourists travelling to Beijing will have to pack their own toiletries beginning June 13, because 13 rated hotels will stop supplying such things in guest rooms.

Eliminating free toothpaste, toothbrushes, slippers, bath soap, shampoo and combs in hotel rooms is expected to help protect the environment by reducing waste, said a managing official with the Jianguo Group, a hotel conglomerate in Beijing.

In 2002, the hotel sector was told to stop supplying of six disposal articles in hotel rooms in order to become more environmentally friendly, but most hotels shunned the mandate for fear of losing customers.

The Jianguo Group launched its "Green Action" in 13 of its medium- and high-rated hotels in Beijing, such as the Jianguo and Xiyuan hotels in Downtown Beijing. All of them signed a document pledging to do more to protect the environment.

In addition to doing away with disposable articles such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and razors in hotel rooms, hotel operators will no longer change bed sheets or towels unless specifically requested.

The hotel operators have pledged to adopt stricter management methods to cut power consumption.