Marriott to remove all plastic straws from hotels by 2019

The world’s largest hotel chain is set to remove all plastic straws from its 6,500 properties.

Marriott International made the announcement this week which it plans to enforce by July 2019, allowing hotels to deplete their existing stocks and source alternatives.

The global chain, which operates in 127 countries, estimates the plan will remove the production of one billion plastic straws, making a significant dent in the battle against plastic pollution. A similar pledge from Starbucks earlier this month will also prevent the use of around one billion straws, according to the company.

“We are proud to be among the first large US companies to announce that we’re eliminating plastic straws in our properties worldwide,” said Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International.

A number of Marriott’s most popular brands have already made the switch away from plastic. The iconic Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London was among 60 hotels in the UK to provide alternative straws. The Marco Island beach resort in Florida will also remove plastic straws, leading to the elimination of 65,000 a month.

“Removing plastic straws is one of the simplest ways our guests can contribute to plastic reduction when staying with us – something they are increasingly concerned about and are already doing in their own homes. We are committed to operating responsibly and – with over one million guests staying with us every night – we think this is a powerful step forward to reducing our reliance on plastics.”

The plan runs alongside other recent sustainability commitments made by the hotel company, including a goal to reduce landfill waste by 45 percent by 2025. One of its first steps to tackle the problem was to replace small toiletry bottles across 1,500 hotels in North America. Once complete, the move will prevent 35 million of the bottles from going to landfill.

 

Photo Credit: José Carlos Cortizo Pérez/CC