Holidaymakers urged to ditch plastic straws in drinks
Holidaymakers, tourist boards and hotels are being urged to ditch plastic straws in drinks as part of the 2018 Make Holidays Greener campaign.
Plastic is the focus of this year’s initiative, run by ABTA in partnership with Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations.
The announcement of the 2018 Make Holidays Greener campaign comes in the week the UK Government said it is considering a ban on plastic straws and other items, such plastic drink stirrers and cotton buds.
Prime Minister Theresa May made the announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London and called on Commonwealth leaders to follow suit.
Statistics show that, as of 2015, 6.3bn tones of plastic waste had been generated worldwide. Of this, 9% has been recycled, 12% incinerated and the remaining 79% accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.
An estimated 8.5 billion plastic straws are thrown away each year.
Last year’s BBC series Blue Planet II heralded a change in attitude among the public on the impact of plastic on marine life, with footage showing animals injured or killed by plastic in the ocean.
Presenter David Attenborough ended the series with the message: "The future of all life now depends on us."
An ABTA spokeswoman said: "Consumers are driving change and have a part to play.
"Holidaymakers who are conscious about the effect of what they are using could affect the environment can make a choice not to use something.
"It has a knock-on effect as travel companies and hoteliers are very focused on the consumer."
The annual Make Holidays Greener campaign will run for three months, from the first week of June until the end of August.
ABTA has produced a campaign support pack, which is available for travel companies.
The pack looks at alternatives to plastics, such as encouraging holidaymakers to use reusable bags, minimising the use of straws in drinks, organising a clean-up operation such as a beach clean or committing to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ plastics where possible.
ABTA director of destinations and sustainability Nikki White said: "This past year has seen a tipping point in public awareness on the damage plastics can have on the environment and businesses can use this to drive forward a change in their approach internally, as well as with suppliers and destinations.
"How destinations manage their waste varies significantly, so what can be recycled in one resort can’t in another.
"Make Holidays Greener is a great opportunity for travel companies to share best practice of what has worked, try out new approaches and get customers involved in their sustainability agenda."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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