Beyond Plastic: Why and How Hotels Can Lead the Waste Reduction Revolution

GREEN Hospitality
Jul 28
8 min read

Author: Samara Anand

High School Student & 2025 FSI Summer Impact Fellow

Edited by TC Li

The Sheer Scale of the Plastic Pollution Crisis

Every year, the human species collectively generates approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic waste, equivalent to the weight of 2,200 Eiffel Towers. To quote the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres: “Every day, the equivalent of over 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into our oceans, rivers, and lakes.” Alarmingly, only 9% of the plastic produced and consumed is recycled, and the estimated cumulative cost of damage from plastic pollution from 2016 to 2040 stands at US$281 trillion.

The Asia-Pacific region is estimated to account for over 70% of mismanaged plastic waste, with a considerable share of this waste ending up in the ocean. Within Asia, Hong Kong and Macau are known contributors to the plastic pollution. In 2023, plastic accounted for 19% of all municipal solid waste (MSW) landfilled in Hong Kong, making it the third-largest type of MSW found in the city’s three rapidly filling landfills. However, due to inadequate recycling facilities and the general lack of consumer awareness, only around 6.5% of the total plastic waste was properly recycled, with the rest disposed of at landfills that are reaching their capacities.

Similarly to Hong Kong, Macau faces a severe waste management issue. In 2024, plastics made up 24% of all MSW. Despite governmental education campaigns, nearly 40% of Macau residents indicated in a survey that they seldom recycle or don’t recycle at all, letting their household garbage mostly go to landfill.

Policies in the Asia-Pacific that (Barely) Combat Plastic Pollution

Government intervention through environmentally conscious policies is a powerful tool when tackling the reduction of plastic waste. In Shanghai, China, a regulation requiring all hotels to stop supplying several disposable amenities, such as toothbrushes, combs, bath sponges, shaving kits, nail files, and shoe brushes, all packaged in single-use plastic, was implemented in July 2019.

Since 2021, Macau has also been instituting a series of single-use plastic bans for the F&B industry, including banning plastic plates, cups, straws, drink stirrers, and styrofoam takeaway boxes. However, no measure has yet been introduced to ban single-use toiletries in hotels.

The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department has tried to combat plastic pollution by instituting a stringent restriction on single-use plastic consumption on 22 April 2024. These restrictions bring to light the hospitality industry’s reliance on single-use plastics. With single-use plastic water bottles, toothbrushes, packaging, cutlery, and more being integral to operations, it was no doubt that Hong Kong’s hospitality businesses would be concerned about the new regulations. Nonetheless, targeting these items would be a start in creating a dent in Hong Kong’s plastic waste, with one hotelier in Hong Kong claiming to save over 6,000 plastic water bottles within the first week of installing new water dispensers in preparation of the ban.

However, some hospitality businesses had long started phasing out single-use plastic before the implementation of government regulations. For example, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has eliminated 99% of single-use plastic from all its operations in 2023, essentially removing nearly 1,000 metric tonnes of waste annually. The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, which owns The Peninsula luxury chain, began transitioning away from single-use plastic in 2018 and now ensures that in-room amenities are 99% petroleum-free.

In a world still largely adopting a linear economic and resource consumption model, integrating sustainability into the business model can be costly, at least at the beginning. So why have these luxury hotel groups spent innumerable financial and human resources and time to reduce their carbon footprint by intentionally phasing out single-use plastic? Why has there been a greater shift to sustainability in the hospitality industry without much prompting from the government?

Going Green Pays Off

In the current landscape, embracing sustainability is not just a moral responsibility; it also pays significant dividends for businesses. As hotels adopt eco-friendly practices, they are discovering that prioritising environmental responsibility can lead to enhanced profitability, operational efficiency, and a stronger connection with increasingly eco-conscious travellers.

Environmental Responsibility: With increased information and knowledge now widely available about climate change, accompanied by stricter environmental regulations, some hotels have decided to prioritise a future of human and planetary flourishing over short-term gains, including the convenience of using plastic products.

Environmental conservation makes business sense, too, as it benefits both hospitality businesses and their customers, including travellers seeking one-of-a-kind experiences immersing in pristine nature. Hotel properties with an ocean view will not fare well when the ocean is filled with plastic waste, for example. This partly explains why hotel groups like Six Senses’s resorts in Seychelles, the Maldives, Fiji, and Vietnam work with local NGOs for continuous coral reef restoration efforts.

Cost Effectiveness and Operational Efficiency: Many hotels went plastic-free to save money. While plastic is extremely cheap, its cumulative costs add up significantly, especially because many small items, like toiletries, are packaged in single-use plastic and provided to guests. Even if the complimentary products haven’t been used, hotels often have to dispose of them due to hygiene reasons, leading to further wastage and ongoing expense.

By adopting more sustainable alternatives such as refillable dispensers (which cost 25% less than single-use bottles) and eliminating the automatic provision of single-use free amenities, hotels can enjoy cost-cutting benefits by only providing guests with certain amenities upon demand. For example, by rolling out refillable dispensers across their properties, Marriott International saved US$1.2 million annually and cut plastic waste by 60%.

Appealing to Businesses Travellers: Many publicly listed companies and big corporates are now mandated by stock exchanges and government regulations to report on their sustainability and ESG endeavours. One low-hanging fruit is to choose hotels with solid sustainability initiatives and transparent reporting mechanisms as the accommodation for their employees on business trips. A report by the Global Business Travel Association found that 76% of business travel buyers surveyed have incorporated or are planning to incorporate sustainability objectives into their travel policies.

Brand and Reputational Benefits: Many hotels may also choose to go plastic-free to appeal to a new market of young customers, considerably more ‘eco-conscious’ than older generations. A report published in 2021 by the Capgemini Research Institute shows that 77% of businesses have indicated that sustainability leads to increases in consumer loyalty. But perhaps most importantly, a report by booking.com showed that 70% of global travellers were more likely to book an eco-friendly accommodation.

Plastic Free July

For hospitality businesses planning to phase out single-use plastic, the ‘Plastic Free July’ campaign offers an opportunity to engage your guests and staff in your vision of sustainability operations, gauge the capacity and resources necessary for long-term plastic phase-out policies and actions, and reap reputational benefits from dedicated plastic-free initiatives.

Plastic Free July is a yearly global movement that encourages people to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic during the month of July. It was founded by the Australian, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, in 2011. Concerned about the amount of plastic going to landfill, Rebecca encouraged 40 of her friends to avoid single-use plastic for the month of July. Over the past decade or so, the eco-conscious activity for a bunch of friends has grown into a well-known campaign with millions of participants worldwide.

The widespread popularity of the movement lies in the fact that anyone can participate in plastic reduction efforts. Instead of one-off initiatives, the movement is rather encouraging participants to leverage creativity and knowledge to find long-term solutions to wean off plastic. To incentivise more people to participate in the annual movement, Plastic Free July offers resources on its website for beginners and those who want to amp up their plastic reduction efforts.

Five Plastic Reduction Solutions for Hospitality Businesses

By prioritising plastic reduction, businesses can not only contribute to environmental preservation, but also differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Here are five actionable solutions that hospitality businesses can adopt to minimise plastic waste.

Eliminate default single-use plastics from hotel rooms. Make single-use plastic amenities only available to guests upon request. To make sure customers are aware, advertise this policy on the official website and make it a part of the booking information so that travellers know about your plastic-free mission and are encouraged to participate. For more information and practical tips on plastic reduction, check out GREEN Hospitality’s in-depth report, Plastic Reduction Guide for the Hospitality Industry.
To take a step further, stock rooms with more eco-friendly alternatives, such as recycled glassware, ceramic mugs, bamboo toothbrushes, and more. While these amenities are more expensive, they will help attract the growing number of eco-conscious clientele and contribute to your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability endeavours.
A note on bioplastics: not all are necessarily better for the environment. For example, plastic alternatives made from polylactic acid (PLA), while widely claimed and believed to be biodegradable, its biodegradability is limited to specific conditions found in industrial composting facilities, and it could persist in nature for extended periods as pollutants. PLA can also contaminate recycling streams if not properly sorted, posing challenges for sustainable waste management systems. Use GREEN Hospitality’s When “Bio” Meets “Plastics”: A Case Study Of Bioplastics And Their Impact In Hong Kong as a guide to navigate the landscape of bioplastics and compostable alternatives. World Wide Fund for Nature’s Alternative Materials Tool, meanwhile, guides businesses towards truly sustainable and eco-friendly materials by providing an analysis of the lifecycle environmental data of materials commonly used in packaging.
Some innovative solutions are emerging as potential sustainable alternatives for hotels, including honeycomb paper in lieu of bubble wrap, mushroom packaging as a substitute for Styrofoam boxes, and seaweed packaging for single-use food wraps and sachets.
Work with a ‘green team’ dedicated to reducing the hotel’s overall carbon footprint and improving sustainability. Hotels can work with nonprofits specialised in sustainability, such as GREEN Hospitality, to conduct plastic audits, devise strategies, and engage employees through awareness-building programmes on plastic. Explore GREEN Hospitality’s advisory services, training and employee engagement programmes on our website here.
Host recycling awareness campaigns to engage and educate guests and staff alike. Introduce the pledges (such as those suggested by Plastic Free July) to the staff. For guests, inform them about the initiatives via room signage or email, and offer them the chance to get involved in activities such as beach clean-up. Read this blog post for inspiration on the pledges and activities to mobilise your guests and staff for plastic-free initiatives.
Join the UN Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, a worldwide community of hospitality and tourism businesses that facilitates knowledge and resource sharing to accelerate sustainability actions. Joining the UN Initiative would also enhance the hotel’s credibility for more eco-conscious clientele and businesses who want to partner with sustainable hotels.

In a Nutshell...

Reducing plastic waste for hotels is not only an environmental imperative but also a strategic business move. As the plastic pollution issue mounts, especially in the lagging Asia-Pacific Region, now is the perfect time for hotels to embrace plastic-free initiatives, protecting the environment and boosting brand images to guests and potential business partners. By making meaningful changes this July and beyond, hotels can champion a cleaner future and inspire guests to do the same.

To learn how your hospitality business can go green and get rid of plastic, see the numerous resources offered by GREEN Hospitality and the Plastic Free Foundation. Contact us at partnerships@greenhospitality.io to explore our solutions that can transform your hospitality business into a leader in sustainability!