It’s part of the ritual of traveling, isn’t it? The anticipation of packing. After months of planning (or if you're like me days of planning), the trip is booked. Whether it’s a dream destination or a quick micro-weekend getaway, the packing begins: clothes, shoes, pajamas, accessories. And, of course, the toiletries.
The shampoo, the conditioner, the toothpaste, the deodorant. The soap or body wash.
All of it.
Even when I was certain our destination hotel provided the basics I still packed a stash of minis into my bag- just in case. Just in case of what?
Kind of like packing a week’s worth of underwear for a weekend away. Just in case.
And so, into the bag they went- those little clunky chunky plastic bottles from the “trial aisle.” A habit that, for years, I never questioned.
Plastic Is Still A Normal Part of Travel Even When We Move Away From Plastic In Other Parts Of Our Lives.
Around 10 or 15 years ago, I began paying more attention to what I brought into my home. I swapped paper towels for reusable Swedish dish cloths. Even swapping single-use disposable paper napkins for cloth ones. I cleaned my home with homemade solutions in kept in glass bottles. I chose bar soaps over plastic packaged liquid soap. Step by step, I cut back on all the products with excessive plastic packaging and questionable ingredients.
But when it came to travel, the plastic travel minis were still my go-to. Maybe it was because they weren't part of my daily use in everyday life? They were small, after all. Harmless, right?
Except they’re not. That tiny shampoo bottle? It’s destined for the landfill. And the truth is, travel-size toiletries aren’t just wasteful; for those who want to dispose of them responsibly, you can't.
Did You Know?
Those Fun-size Travel Minis Aren’t Recyclable.
Here’s Why:
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Too small to recycle – Sorting machines in recycling facilities are designed for standard sizes. Anything under two inches slips through the system and heads straight for the landfill, or worse the ocean.**
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Mixed materials – Many caps, pumps, and squeezable tubes combine different plastics, which makes them impossible to recycle.
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Residue issues – Containers have to be completely clean to be processed. That half-used dollop of lotion or last dab of toothpaste all the way at the end? It contaminates the system.
So while only about 9% of regular-sized plastic packaging ever even gets recycled, the number for minis is 0%. None.
The Bigger Picture
That “just in case” bottle adds up to a much larger environmental impact than we realize.
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Every year, 120 billion units of disposable beauty and personal care products are produced globally.†
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Most of these are single-use, short-lived, and bound for landfills, waterways, or oceans.
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Plastic doesn’t disappear; it breaks down into microplastics that linger and last for centuries. The environmental cost of plastic pollution is staggering - an estimated $13 billion in annual damage to marine ecosystems worldwide.*
Tourism makes it worse. Research shows that during peak travel seasons, plastic pollution spikes. Workers in Zanzibar noticed waste collection rising sharply during tourism surges, with plastic making up the bulk. In the Mediterranean, plastic waste has been reported to increase by as much as 30% during summer months.*
In the moment, those travel minis seem convenient. But that convenience is short-lived. They run out quickly—sometimes mid-trip, forcing another purchase. Another plastic bottle leading to more waste.
While those solid colorful memories from your mini weekend getaway fade overt time, those mini toiletries live on for hundreds and hundreds of years.
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RESOURCES
*https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sites/default/files/from-crm/rethinking_single-use_plastic_products_in_travel_tourism_-_unep_wttc.pdf
†https://www.inc.com/shama-hyder/what-do-beauty-baby-food-have-in-common-they-produce-a-ton-of-waste.html
**https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/beauty-samples-recycling-problem-48805333