I was happy to learn that major hotels chains, including Hyatt, Intercontinental, Hilton and Marriott, are eliminating those little travel size shampoos, conditioners and bath gels within the next few years.

I’ve always wondered about these little amenities. They are convenient, yet wasteful, but no longer tolerable.

Another pet peeve lurks nearby on the hotel bathroom counter — those little bars of soap. For years, I have traveled with a small soap dish and use it to avoid wasting the soap usually left behind.

I was also happy to learn about efforts to collect, sterilize and reconstitute the soap for distribution to under-developed countries where soap is otherwise unavailable.

By the way, the shampoos, conditioners and gels will be available in larger permanent and refillable bottles.

This is another small, yet meaningful, step to combat the waste and environmental impact. Perhaps it is long overdue… but better now than never.