Sandals Resorts International has announced that all 19 Sandals and Beaches Resorts across seven Caribbean islands – including Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, Barbados and Turks & Caicos – will eliminate the 21,490,800 single-use plastic straws and stirrers used across the resorts each year by November.
Eco-friendly paper straws will be available upon request.
“Love is at the crux of all Sandals Resorts, and this love extends to the oceans and communities around them,” said Adam Stewart, deputy chairman of Sandals Resorts International.
“We care deeply about our commitment to preserving both marine wildlife and human health within the many beautiful islands we’re connected to.
“Eliminating single-use plastic straws and stirrers is only the beginning of our journey toward helping create a plastic-free sea in the region we call home,” he added.
Sandals Resorts is committed to moving beyond single-use plastic.
Through a new partnership with Oceanic Global, a non-profit focused on providing solutions to issues impacting our oceans, the company is conducting an audit – both front and back of house – to determine a roadmap to the elimination of single-use plastic across its resorts.
The audit will be conducted in accordance to guidelines outlined in Oceanic Global’s industry-specific sustainability toolkit, the Oceanic Standard.
Following the elimination of single-use plastic straws and stirrers, Sandals Resorts International will explore opportunities to eliminate other plastic across its resorts by September 2019.
The company has already made headway with the elimination of plastic laundry bags and plastic bags throughout gift shops.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Sandals Resorts International, the first all-inclusive brand to join our mission,” said Lea d’Auriol, founder of Oceanic Global.
“Seventy percent of our world is made up of oceans. It’s critical that we take steps to protect this precious resource – and Sandals is sending the message to companies with a major presence along ocean shores that they have a responsibility to take action, and that preserving ocean health can be both efficient and effective,” she added.
This initiative is part of a larger effort to reduce plastic waste in the Caribbean region, where the Caribbean Sea connects more than 700 islands and coastlines that draw more than 30 million visitors each year.
Sandals Resorts is already invested in environmental sustainability.