Preliminary study in the industry project "Plastic-free vacations on the Balearic Islands" shows a wide range of potential savings

Preliminary study of the Futouris industry project Plastic-free vacations

In the current Futouris industry project, Futouris members have joined forces with the Balearic Islands government and local NGOs to reduce plastic waste in tourism and improve recycling processes.

Focus points of the preliminary study

In a first step, a preliminary study was carried out in ten hotels on Mallorca in May to identify the biggest drivers of plastic waste and to better assess possible potentials and challenges. In the ten participating partner hotels of Futouris members DER-Touristik, schauinsland-reisen, Thomas Cook and TUI, a hotel inspection was first carried out to determine in which areas and for which purposes single-use plastic is used. The reasons for the use of single-use plastic products, the reduction measures already implemented and future potential were then discussed in interviews with the hotel managers and representatives of the F&B and housekeeping departments. Alternative products such as edible straws, water refill stations or cutlery and crockery made from renewable raw materials and their use in hotel operations were also discussed with the hotel employees. The waste disposal and recycling process in the respective municipality was also discussed.

Hotel guests were then asked for their opinions on the local plastic and recycling situation and the acceptance of possible alternatives.

Interesting results of the Futouris preliminary study

The information and impressions gained will be summarized in a report and made available online. They will be presented to the participating hotels and Futouris members at a stakeholder workshop in mid-June and will form the basis for further action.

We have already evaluated the initial results:

• Plastic straws are no longer issued, with the exception of one hotel, and paper straws are used instead.

• Plastic bottles are one of the biggest sources of plastic waste in every hotel. Some hotels also still use disposable plastic cups in the pool area.

• Small shampoo and soap bottles have already been replaced by dispensers in many hotels, but individually packaged care sets can often still be found in every bathroom

• The waste disposal process varies greatly depending on the municipality. In some municipalities, the different types of waste such as plastic, paper and glass are already separated and hotels that separate them properly incur lower disposal fees.

This exciting and interesting week concluded with a working meeting to discuss the initial results with the Minister of Tourism of the Balearic Islands, Isabel Busquets, the Minister of the Environment, Viçent Vidal, and Sebastià Sansó, the head of the local waste management authority, as well as further meetings with local partners and organizations to discuss future cooperation.