Hotels Have a Problem With Plastics
Skift Take
The hotel industry is just waking up to the problem of plastic waste, but this is a two-way street. Hotels rely on this convenient, affordable material just as much as travelers do. The real struggle is turning newfound global awareness and municipal legislation into swift action.
Why a remote control in a hotel room would need to be wrapped in plastic is lost on Heather Richardson, a 32-year-old writer based in Cape Town, South Africa, originally from the United Kingdom. She's been traveling regularly for work for the past five years and now spends a remarkable 150 nights a year in hotels. “I do find it crazy that everything has to be swaddled in plastic," she said.
Richardson didn't realize this at the time, but the turning point in her awareness of plastic waste came in 2011 on a trip to Fiji. Walking along a clean, golden, sandy beach, she eventually stumbled onto a stretch that was blanketed with garbage, most of it plastic. It was washing up straight from the ocean, reaching all the way to the palm trees. On the other side of that trashy patch the beach was spotless again, and it reminded her of how so many people see environmental issues: "out of sight, out of mind."
In hotel rooms, particularly in bathrooms, Richardson regularly