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HOTEL ICON GOES STRAW-LESS
“We have stopped providing straws to our guests throughout the hotel, from our restaurants to in-room dining and events, and are only handing them out on request. Plastic straws are now a major source of plastic pollution, and as they are not recyclable they mostly end up being discarded in landfill or in our oceans.”
- Mr. Richard Hatter, the General Manager of Hotel ICON
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To limit the use of straws, and protect the environment, Hotel ICON announced on 1 March 2018 that it has ended the customary serving of plastic straws to our guests, and is offering compostable pasta and paper straws upon request from 7 June 2018.
The hotel has been using 96,000 plastic straws a year, and the goal is to reduce the use and waste of plastic straws that go into the landfill. Hatter explained that ICON is also exploring options to replace the plastic straws with a paper version or straws made from biodegradable materials.
Hatter added, “Our service team is also encouraging our guests to bring their own recyclable containers and cups for take-away food and beverage”. |
Single-use plastic food-ware products such as drinking straws, utensils and containers made from Styrofoam were among the top debris collected during Hotel ICON’s GreenRace beach cleanup over the weekend in Hong Kong. 11 Hotel ICON associates volunteered at the cleanup in Tai Long Wan Bay, Sai Kung, where over 418 kg of trash left on beaches were collected over two hours over the weekend (24th February 2018).
According to the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, “plastic straws are one of the top ten contributors to marine debris. Studies have shown that the average American uses 1.6 straws per day, adding up to a daily total consumption of up to 500 million straws a day. Once we finish consuming a beverage, the plastic straw becomes waste. It takes only 10 minutes to drink with a plastic straw, but 400-500 years for one to be broken down”. |
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ICON GOES STRAW-LESS campaign is also in line with the theme of Earth Day 2018 (on 22nd April), which focuses on mobilising the world to End Plastic Pollution.
From today, join #hoteliconhk on GOING STRAW-LESS. When you eat out, say “No straws, thanks”. Share and encourage others to do so on social media. Use #thefinalstraw #DitchtheStraw #SkiptheStraw #StrawSucks #StopSipping #NoStraw or if you can think of more creative phrases on social media to show your support, share them with us #hoteliconhk. The more people talking about the campaign, the more awareness we can bring to the amount of environmental damage the single use plastics can cause.
‘Thinking Green’ is our ongoing initiatives as part of Hotel ICON’s commitment to doing everything possible to benefit the planet and the community through sustainable operations. |
