Austria
The German sustainability initiative “Futouris” and its members – including TUI – have implemented numerous measures to reduce plastic waste in partner hotels on Majorca and Ibiza. TUI hotels were also involved. The aim was not only to reduce plastic waste generated in tourism but also to improve the recycling rate.
To achieve the goal, various measures were developed and tested in practice by hotel operations. Due to the Corona pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions and hotel closures, the implementation of measures started in autumn 2021.
A test of four different alternatives to common single-use plastic products at the ROBINSON CLUB Cala Serena provided valuable insights into the savings potential as well as the acceptance of the products by guests and staff. "Reducing single-use plastic is an important part of our sustainability commitment for the TUI hotel brands and not only on the Balearic Islands. The Futouris project has shown how important it is to involve the staff in the hotels in the development of alternative solutions, from housekeeping to purchasing. We are happy to test innovative products and will continue to work hard for a circular economy in our facilities," says Miguel Galmés Schwarz, responsible for sustainability at the hotel brands ROBINSON, TUI MAGIC LIFE and TUI BLUE.
Here's how two of our hotels were involved:
TUI MAGIC LIFE Cala Pada
Installation of five water dispensers on the hotel grounds where guests can fill up their reusable drinking bottle free of charge and sale of reusable bottles in the hotel. A total of almost 200,000 large and small plastic water bottles (about 5.4 tonnes of plastic) could be saved.
ROBINSON CLUB Cala Serena
Installation of six water dispensers on the hotel grounds where guests can fill up their reusable aluminium drinking bottle free of charge. In addition, various alternatives to single-use plastic products were tested: aluminium-free and compostable coffee capsules, refillable dispenser bottles for personal care products, washable rubbish bags, cleaning device based on an oxidised water solution for general cleaning products and glass cleaner. The savings potential when using the tested products in the hotel per year is huge: plastic waste from waste bags can be reduced by 100 percent if reusable waste bags are used. And plastic for personal care products can be reduced by almost 90 percent if refillable dispenser bottles are used.
To ensure the support of the employees in the implementation of the plastic reduction measures, five interactive workshops were held at the start of the 2022 season. More than 130 hotel employees learned about possible reduction measures and discussed solutions to challenges.
Thanks to the support of local partner organisations and the commitment of the project hotels, more than 330,000 plastic water bottles were saved through the installation of water dispensers and more than 207,000 shampoo and shower gel bottles were saved through the use of local refillable personal care products.
