Single Use Plastic (SUP) Minimisation

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1 Plastic Smart GREENMark by GreenTravel.ie Single Use Plastic (SUP) Minimisation Checklist and Guide

2 Single Use Plastic (SUP) Removal Checklist & Guide Use this checklist to monitor when you have eliminated SUP s from customer facing areas or implemented alternative approved solutions. The listed items should be supplemented by your internal audit. Read the guide section for further explanation/ideas. SUP Item Comment/Observation Describe what action you have taken/ implemented to eliminate or mitigate this SUP Takeaway Cups and Lids Plastic Bottles Plastic Straws Plastic Stirrers Composite/Plastic Coasters Single Use Food Packaging Cutlery Plates Balloons and Plastic Sticks Bathroom Toiletries Bathroom Amenities Cotton Buds Guest Laundry Bags Waste Bags

3 Guide The Plastic Smart GREENMark is designed to encourage hospitality and tourism businesses to make a substantial move away from SUP s. We recognise that, in the early stages, not every single consumer facing SUP will be removed/replaced and that some, for hygiene/other acceptable reasons, may be required for a period. However, these should not represent more than 5% of total initial SUP s within the business. No new SUP s are permitted to be introduced following the business signing the Plastic Smart Pledge. Communication: Tell your customers what SUP s you have removed from the business within the business or through your website. They are interested and expect you to make it easy for them. They are all aware of the dangers posed by SUP s and will be impressed by businesses that take direct action. Getting Started: The key is to gather together a sample of all the SUP s used in consumer facing areas within your business and add any not covered already in the checklist. Then start making changes, one-by-one. Select the largest item in volume terms first and make a change. Then move on to the next. Involve your suppliers and talk to your customers. Do not fall into the trap of claiming There is no alternative, the customer really wants SUP etc. Be creative and honest if you can t/won t change a specific item tell everyone why and demonstrate how you are mitigating this decision by taking bigger steps in another area. You do not want the efforts you put into reducing your SUP s to be lost by having some SUP s in clear customer focus as soon as they enter your business. Food Packaging. This is a multi-faceted challenge as so many items come wrapped in plastic. Each business needs to conduct an internal audit to identify how many food items are provided in SUP containers. (In-room Tea/Coffee making facilities are excluded from the standard as they represent a specific hygiene challenge as well as specific food allergy related packaging such as Gluten Free) The range includes; Cereals, jams, sauces, sugar, salt, pepper, butter, biscuits, cakes, pastries, doggy bags/containers, etc. This list is not exhaustive the in-house audit should reveal all SUP s in use. Plastic plates, cutlery, etc. must not be used Takeaway Cups/Lids: Businesses should encourage Keep-Cups (Customer uses their own cup) and think this through properly provide a small sink/washing facility so they can rinse out their Keep-Cup, sell branded Keep-cups, offer a discount for Keep-cuppers. If you still have takeaway Cups/Lids then make sure they are compostable both and that any stirrers you provide are the same.

4 Plastic Bottles: The ubiquitous polluter. Replace with aluminium tins or glass bottles. Just do it. If you want to provide a customer with water when out walking/touring, etc. give them a glass bottle or a can of water. Make sure all vending machines comply. Invest in reusable water bottles aluminium or hard plastic and have them for sale if customers don t want to carry glass bottles. Make sure you tell your customers what you are doing. Have a water supply near reception to fill customer bottles. Bar Items: Replace straws, stirrers and plastic backed coasters with compostable or reusable alternatives. Make your bars plastic free. Balloons and Plastic Sticks: Used on so many occasions and they are claimed to be biodegradable if made from natural latex. However, in the time they take to degrade they cause pollution and can harm wildlife. They should not be used. Talk to your party supplier about alternative and creative ways to replace them. Guest Bedrooms: It is often remarkable how many SUP s can be found in a typical hotel bedroom. Traditionally almost all of them are wrapped in plastic bags to support the distribution and maintain hygiene. But consider the logic of wrapping in-room slippers in a plastic bag for hygiene purposes. If you follow that logic forward all sheets and towels should also be wrapped as they have been used multiple times. Challenge your own perceptions and look at your systems of training and communication with guests. Toiletries: Many accommodation providers wish to continue offering small bottles of toiletries and individual bars of soap. Best Practice is to convert to bulk toiletries and there are many high-quality alternatives available. However, hotels can also join the Clean the World (CTW) programme to mitigate this service but must advise the customer of this in every guest bathroom. CTW collects single-use bedroom toiletries (Soaps, Shampoos, Body Washes, Lotions, Conditioners) from hotels and upcycles them into hygiene packs for disadvantaged communities. By implementing CTW a hotel can satisfy the Plastic Smart standard for these SUP s, as they will be reused as opposed to going directly to the residual waste stream. More information can be found here Amenities: The standard does not require these not to be provided but to ensure they are not contained in plastic bags and to replace items with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Plastic cotton buds are specifically prohibited. Amenities that need to be addressed include; Slipper covers, cotton wool, sewing kits, nail files, etc. Some hotels have found that the best way to present these items is in a clear container in the bathroom with lid/drawers. Guests can easily see what is available and staff can see what needs to be replaced.

5 Cotton Buds: Seen as one of the worst items. There are plenty of alternatives. Make sure they are not made from plastic. Laundry Bags: Often plastic. Provide linen bags make them from old sheets get a local community project to make them for you. Use paper, use baskets don t use plastic When linen is returned make sure it is not wrapped in plastic bags/sheets follow through on the logic. Waste Bags: Your bins use compostable bags in the bathrooms and paper liners in the bedroom. Or use no bags at all and change the standard. Other Items: During the in-house audit you may identify plastic items that are in everyday use but are not single use. Keep a list of these and look to find an alternative as, ultimately, they will end up in a waste stream which could lead to pollution. An example here would be plastic key cards these tend to be multi-use, if the guests return them. There are many alternatives the ferry companies use stiff paper which is very cheap. You can also use bamboo or another renewable material and include a message encouraging your guests to act responsibly or simply to let them know about your Plastic Smart programme. Plastic Smart GREENMark by GreenTravel.ie The checklist here sets the standard required for the Plastic Smart GREENMark. Where a business finds that there is not an alternative to one of the listed items they should contact us directly to identify an alternative supplier or alternative approach. It is important for businesses to note that this is a voluntary programme if you just want some PR and to implement the fewest actions don t engage. Some of the actions required will mean that some internal standards/policies/procedures must change that there will be increased costs that not everything needs to be wrapped in plastic. For each SUP you identify you should write up a plan of action and in your communication (website) keep customers informed about progress. Clear timelines should be shown. If a business fails to show substantial reductions in SUP s after 12 months GreenTravel.ie will deem the programme as failed and the business will be taken off the Plastic Smart listing and must cease using any logos provided or the brand name Plastic Smart.