Hotels grasping at straws as war on plastic rages – is it too little too late?
- As resorts the world over race to ban single-use plastic, we wonder if it is just an empty gesture or a genuine attempt to save our dying planet
“X is proud to announce the banning of plastic straws at all of its hotels and resorts worldwide,” reads a press release that recently crossed my desk. “The total ban reaffirms X’s commitment to environmental conservation and sustainability.”
I’m sorry, but it really doesn’t. If X – which shall remain nameless because this is one of many, many hotel and restaurant chains now jumping on the no-plastic-straw bandwagon – were really committed to conservation and sustainability, it would have made this move as soon as it became obvious single-use (Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2018) plastic was a problem.
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Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the United States, got the message back in 2015, banning straws that are not recyclable or compostable. The following year, to mark World Oceans Day, June 8, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club decided to no longer provide plastic straws or bags to members, and plastic bottles were also banned.
So why have others waited until now?
From the same press release: “X understands that today’s traveller demands exciting and authentic experiences while visiting a destination, which includes supporting sustainable practices in local communities. Banning single-use plastic straws is just one step to achieving this.” And there we have it. This is little more than a cynical attempt to profit from a public that is starting – just starting, mind you – to grasp the awful degradation our planet has been subjected to. If this chain honestly cared, it would be looking to radically address the much larger environmental problems associated with tourism; to be a leader rather than a follower.
Oh, hang on, there’s more … “X is also adopting other sustainable practices throughout every property, such as zero waste in food management. Select X hotels are also implementing zero-plastic or sustainable materials policies to reduce or eliminate plastic use, as well as offering eco-conscious bath amenities.”
And that’s it. That there’s no explanation of what constitutes an “eco-conscious bath amenity” suggests those are not really worth bragging about.
Any action is better than none, of course, but life on our planet is dying. We need wealthy companies that cater for wealthy customers – those who are best able to effect change – to foster initiatives that are ambitious; that are genuinely worth highlighting in a press release.
