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A pioneer in the hotel industry and a forerunner in terms of sustainable development in Mauritius, Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels has reached another milestone in its environmental commitment. The Group has set the target of achieving zero plastic waste by eliminating all single-use plastic items from its hotels by July 2021.
“Beachcomber has introduced its Environmental Charter and made 52 commitments relating to its environmental and social efforts in 2019. The Group’s initiatives include setting a new goal: achieving zero single-use plastic waste by July 2021,” says the CEO of Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Gilbert Espitalier-Noël. “This is an ambitious challenge that we will obviously tackle in-house with our Artisans. Very importantly, we will also need the cooperation and involvement of our suppliers in order to achieve this goal.”
To carry out this green initiative, the Group has launched a major action plan with specific deadlines. The aim is to identify all single-use plastic items used in its hotels and compile a list of alternatives made from environmentally-friendly materials. All plastic items that can only be used once will gradually be replaced by biodegradable or recyclable products.
With the zero plastic waste target, Beachcomber is strengthening and consolidating its efforts to address this type of pollution. The Group has introduced a number of strong initiatives since 2017, including a ban on straws and the phasing out of plastic water bottles in all its hotel. They have been replaced by biodegradable paper straws and glass bottles. Plastic stirrers have also been removed from all Beachcomber hotels. As a result of these initiatives, the Group has reduced its plastic bottle usage by 40 tonnes per year and stopped handing out 350,000 plastic straws as well as 525,500 plastic stirrers. It should be noted that Paradis Beachcomber and Dinarobin Beachcomber have reduced their plastic bottle use by 192,810 since 2017.
The Group has gone a step further by replacing plastic laundry bags with cloth bags made from used bed sheets at housekeeping level. In the coming months, miniature toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, etc.) will be substituted with refillable dispensers. Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels also aims at eliminating all single use plastic food containers from its restaurants.
According to a World Wildlife Foundation report published last year, nearly 100 million tons of plastic are dispersed on land and in the sea. In Mauritius, plastic waste accounts for 14% of municipal waste, i.e. a total of 76,000 tonnes. In addition to contributing to environmental conservation through sustainable alternatives, Beachcomber also aims at raising awareness of the extent of plastic pollution among its Artisans, suppliers and customers through the Zero Plastic Plan. From July 2021, Beachcomber aims to become the first hotel group in Mauritius without single-use plastic.