Starting this month, hotels in Guangzhou will stop providing guests with select disposable amenities.

In response to a government document issued by the Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality on August 26, hotels will no longer provide toothbrushes, combs, shaving kits, shoe brushes, bath sponges and nail files in guestrooms, although guests can still request the items by contacting the hotel service centre.

Meanwhile, hotels are encouraged to sell travel kits with recyclable items, and in-house restaurants not to offer disposable chopsticks, spoons, forks and knives.

The Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality estimates that 160 hotels with star ratings in Guangzhou consume around 1.27 million disposable items every day, and not offering the items mentioned above will create huge environmental benefits, reports local newspaper Guangzhou Daily.

Since July this year, hotels in Shanghai have also stopped offering guests the same disposable amenities.

Large hotel groups have also launched initiatives to make hotel stays more sustainable: Marriott plans to ban mini plastic toiletry bottles by December 2020, and IHG has also announced to switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities in guestrooms.