PLANET OVER PLASTIC

The hospitality industry is at the forefront of tackling the excessive use of plastic, and technology could pitch in here with a few alternatives

- SUMAN TARAFDAR

Have you ever noticed how much single-use plastic is present during your average hotel stay? From cups and bottles to coffee lids, as wrapping in kitchens, room amenities, in business centres, for in-room dining, in conference spaces (water bottles, folders, swag bags, cups), in laundry services, bathroom amenities — yes, those mini shampoo/soap/body cleanser bottles/toothbrushes, bin liners, cling films. Not to forget the back of the house and supply chains.

Whichever way you slice it, we live in a plastic world. To be fair, it’s not just in hotels, but in our daily lives too. Plastics have made life more convenient and more often than not, saved us costs. As the global humankind, a.k.a. the still very much industrial-mechanical species approach a century of plastic use, it is discovering the long-term costs. Even in 1950, the world produced 2 million tonnes of plastic per year, a figure that rose to 381 million tonnes in 2015. What’s worse, it is estimated that 91% of plastic waste hasn’t been recycled, 73% of beach litter is plastic, and nearly one million plastic beverage bottles are sold every minute worldwide, according to National Geographic.

India’s per capita consumption of plastic at 11 kilograms per year is among the lowest in the world, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. Yet, the country generates a stupendous 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. There is no data on how much of that is recycled, but it’s safe to assume a significant amount ends up in rivers, oceans and landfills — polluting each of them.

The consumption of plastic has reached a crisis point and the challenge to curb plastic use is coming from various directions. Creditably, the hospitality sector is doing its bit, though this is just the beginning and the challenges to finding viable alternates are enormous. Just removing plastic straws and bottles won’t cut it.