Hotel and vacation rental guests in Santa Cruz County will soon have to shower without the luxury of those little shampoo and conditioner bottles.

County supervisors last week approved an ordinance banning the plastic toiletry bottles effective Dec. 31, 2020, the Times-Standard reported. Final adoption is expected next Tuesday.

The ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., is the latest attempt to stem the tide of plastic waste in the county and protect Monterey Bay's ecosystem.

Despite recycling efforts, "single-use" plastics, including mini shampoo bottles, water bottles and plastic packaging, continue to pile up in landfills or worse — finding its way into waterways and onto beaches.

"Tourism is one of our leading industries, and many of our visitors come for Monterey Bay and our pristine beaches," 2nd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend said in a statement. "Single-use plastics have dire consequences for these ecosystems and threaten our local economy, and we must act locally to protect them."

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Santa Cruz County was among the first to ban plastic straws, bags and Styrofoam to-go containers — bans that are now common in many municipalities across the state.

In recent months, the drive to end all plastic packaging has gained momentum with China's new demand — imposed in January — that plastic recyclables have less than 0.5 percent contamination, a fraction of the former 4- to 5-percent rate. The nearly impossible standard has caused plastics to pile up at U.S. recyclers and forced them to look elsewhere in Asia for countries that will accept dirtier material.

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Instead of offering the small, disposable bottles, Santa Cruz County hotels must stock rooms with larger bottles or dispensers. The ban won't go into effect for two years to give hoteliers a chance to use up existing inventories.

Hosted rentals, where the owner is present on the property, are exempt from the ban.

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Read Mike Moffitt's latest stories and send him news tips at mmoffitt@sfchronicle.com.

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