PALMA, MALLORCA, SPAIN—Meliá Hotels International says it will eliminate single-use plastics in all its hotels in 2018. Gabriel Escarrer, the Executive Vice President and CEO of Meliá, made the announcement during his speech at the Group’s General Shareholders’ Meeting, a decision justified by the fact that “great customer experiences have to be compatible with respect for the planet, and plastic pollution is a global challenge which affects all destinations.” Escarrer highlighted the positive impact the decision will have: in 2017 more than 22 million plastic bottles were consumed in company hotels. Elimination will avoid more than 15 tons of CO2...

NATIONAL REPORT—Our planet has become overwhelmed by plastic. Since its invention in the 1950s, nearly 9.2 billion tons of plastic has been generated—6.9 billion tons of which is now waste that simply won’t go away. Low fossil fuel prices and lack of profitable markets for recycled materials have led to a disturbing reality of limited recycling—it is estimated that only 9 percent of all plastics ever get recycled. Jenna Jambeck, a University of Georgia engineering professor, estimates that somewhere between 8 to 14 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean each year, most of which is carelessly tossed away...

DOVER, DEL.—Dover Downs Hotel & Casino recently celebrated two significant milestones in a campaign to increase its recycling efforts. First, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino is now recycling 66 percent of its total waste, according to a recent analysis report. That represents an increase of 440 percent compared to recycling levels from 2011. Also, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino is partnering with Planet Aid to help expand its community recycling program. Planet Aid is a nonprofit organization that collects and recycles used textiles to protect the environment and support sustainable development in impoverished communities around the world. Bins will...

PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN—Oceans make up approximately 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and are a vital resource for sustaining life on the planet. The Iberostar Group, a hotel chain with strong ties to the oceans and seas—more than 80 percent of its hotels boast seafront locations—is determined to make a real and effective contribution to the protection and conservation of this unique asset. To accomplish this, the Iberostar Group has implemented its ‘Wave of Change’ program, an ambitious initiative designed in line with Goal 14 of the SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), focused on three main areas: the...

SINGAPORE—Six Senses Duxton, the first city hotel from Six Senses, is now open in historic Tanjong Pagar in the Chinatown area of Singapore. Along with sister hotel Six Senses Maxwell opening later this year, Six Senses Duxton seeks to engage with the surrounding neighborhood and provide a new level of sustainability practiced in Singapore. “Six Senses Duxton aims not only to deliver a five-star luxury hotel experience, but to actively improve the surrounding neighborhood and natural environment as we do so,” says Six Senses Chief Executive Officer Neil Jacobs. “Singapore has been my home for almost 20 years, specifically the...

CINCINNATI—The Procter & Gamble Company celebrated World Oceans Day last week and reiterated its commitment to find solutions so that no P&G packaging finds its way to the world’s oceans. This builds on the company’s leadership efforts in reducing its use of plastics in its packaging, increasing the amount of recycled plastic it is using and helping create the right infrastructures to enable recycling. Currently, 86 percent of P&G’s packaging is recyclable, and the company has strong, ongoing efforts to further increase recyclability. It recently announced the creation of an innovative technology, that it has licensed to PureCycle Technologies, that...

HONOLULU—Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa has been awarded a Hawaii Green Business Award for the seventh consecutive year. At an awards ceremony on May 3, 2018, the resort was recognized as one of 17 businesses from throughout the state that is striving to operate in an environmentally, culturally, and socially responsible manner in order to ultimately contribute to the sustainability and improvement of the island of Hawaii. Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa is one of only eight hotels and resorts to receive this designation this year. “We’re thrilled to accept the honor of being named a...

DELRAY BEACH, FLA.—In order to continue to ensure that the environment remains vibrant for generations to come, The Travel Corporation (TTC) announced for World Environment Day (June 5) that over the next five years it will phase out all single-use plastics from its extensive collection of award-winning travel and tourism companies. Under the guidance of its not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, TTC created a “Multi-Year Plastics Elimination Strategy” that kicks off with an immediate ban of more than 60 types of single-use plastic items such as straws, stir sticks, water bottles, plastic bags, and cutlery from TTC’s 40 global offices across its...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic Hotels, the leading Nordic hotel company, has decided to stop using plastic straws and cocktail sticks in all of its hotels to help reduce the harmful impact these products have on the environment. “As a part of our sustainability program, we’re looking to remove all single-use disposable items made of plastic,” says Lena Bjurner, SVP HR & Sustainability at Scandic Hotels Group. “In total, we’re taking approximately 1.3 million straws and 120,000 cocktail sticks out of circulation on a yearly basis. We are also replacing the plastic lids for our take away coffee mugs with biodegradable ones.” Plastic waste...

NATIONAL REPORT—Each year, according to WooBamboo, billions of plastic toothbrushes end up in landfills or the oceans. Many of those toothbrushes originate in hotels—whether given to guests individually, in amenity packs, or sold in a retail shop. The plastic toothbrushes join the bottles, straws, stir sticks, utensils and other items that complicate the plastic waste problem currently getting worse around the planet. Fortunately for hoteliers, eco-friendlier alternatives to the plastic toothbrush are now available—at a higher price point than plastic, yes—but they are one more valuable way to convey your property’s concern for the environment. No alternative to the plastic...