New environmental regulations, coupled with the growing concern of global climate change and pollution, have forced hotels to take action against single-use plastic waste. The hospitality sector is now focusing on reducing or eliminating plastic straws, cutlery, and other disposable items that go directly into the landfill after one use.

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With more than 330 million people staying in hotels every night and accounting for about 40% of all available accommodations worldwide, hotels have a great potential for reducing their single-use plastic waste by switching to reusable items . If you own or operate a hotel, here are 5 easy s that can help reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint and make an impact on the environment.

1: Educate yourself, your staff and your guests

Before you dive into action and change your hotel’s eco-friendly policies, make sure your staff and guests are aware of the importance of reducing single-use plastic waste. By encouraging your guests to bring their own reusable water bottles, cutlery and bags, you can significantly reduce the amount of disposable items that end up in the landfill.

You can put up signs in the hotel lobby, or send emails to your guests, encouraging them to bring their own reusable items and explaining why it is important to do so. It is also important to educate your staff, especially your kitchen and housekeeping staff, so they are aware of the new environmentally-friendly policies and know how to handle requests related to reusable items properly.

2: Replace plastic water bottles with glass or metal

One of the single-use plastic items you can easily replace with reusable alternatives is the water bottle. Many hotels provide plastic water bottles as part of their guest amenities, but this should be replaced with reusable metal or glass bottles. If you have a restaurant at your hotel, you should also encourage your guests to order tap water instead of bottled water: more than 50% of the water bottles used daily in the US are for hotel guests.

If you are going to replace plastic water bottles with glass bottles, make sure your guests will be able to handle and transport them properly. You can also put up signs at the guest room, informing guests how to properly use glass bottles.

3: Replace single-serving condiment packs

Single-use plastic condiment packs are another item that many hotels have been providing for their guests for years, but these should be replaced with reusable alternatives such as reusable containers or eco-friendly paper cups.

You can also encourage your guests to bring their own food containers from home and use them to store leftovers from the hotel restaurant. This will also cut down on single-use plastic waste from the hotel kitchen.

4: Go green with eco-friendly amenities

As you are replacing plastic items with reusable alternatives, make sure that you are switching to eco-friendly items and materials. Instead of disposable paper towels and sponges, consider switching to washable reusable towels and environmentally-friendly sponges.

This way, you will avoid wasting large amounts of paper and sponges that will go directly into the trash after one use. If you have a gift shop at your hotel, consider replacing plastic bags and boxes with eco-friendly alternatives such as cardboard boxes made from recycled content.

5: Recycle where plastic waste is unavoidable

While reducing single-use plastic waste and replacing it with reusable alternatives is a great first step, it is also important to recycle plastic waste that can’t be avoided. Wash your reusable towels and sponges after each use and put them into the hotel laundry.

This way, you will eliminate the need for disposable paper towels. In the kitchen, recycle all leftovers that cannot be composted, such as vegetable peels, bones, etc. If your hotel has a food waste disposal system, make sure you are feeding it with proper food waste that can be composted, and not with plastic items.

Conclusion

By following these 5 easy steps, you can significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic waste from your hotel. It is important to note that hotels are not the only industries that can benefit from these 5 tips.

They can also be applied to restaurants, grocery stores, and other similar establishments. With the growing concern of environmental issues, the use of plastic items has been under heavy scrutiny.

Hotels are a major contributor to the problem, as they provide disposable cups, cutlery, and other items to their guests daily. If you are an owner or manager of a hotel, it is important to reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint by reducing the amount of single-use plastic waste. By following these 5 easy steps, you can significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste from your hotel.