Guys, we have got some FANTASTIC news!
And no, it’s not that Tuesday has been cancelled and it’s actually Friday. No matter how hard we wish, we just can’t make it happen.
The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) family of brands has announced that over the next five years it will phase out all single-use plastics in a “Multi-Year Plastics Elimination Strategy”.
The announcement comes as TTC, under the guidance of their not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, officially instituted an immediate ban of more than 60 types of single-use plastic items such as straws, stir sticks, water bottles, plastic bags, and cutlery from its 40 global offices across its portfolio of brands.
The single-use plastic ban at TTC offices is the first step in the group’s journey to the complete elimination of single-use plastics across all operations, which will also include the phasing out of single-use plastics across its Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and U by Uniworld cruise ships, all Red Carnation Hotels, and all travel experiences.
It is estimated that TTC’s efforts has the potential to help eliminate the use of millions of plastic water bottles annually.
“We are absolutely committed to doing our part to eliminate avoidable plastic waste and making a positive impact in the communities that we live in and visit,” Brett Tollman, Chief Executive, TTC and Co-Founder of The TreadRight Foundation said.
“As a group with offices in more than 15 countries and operating in 70 countries around the world, we recognise the need to do our part to ensure that we do not further contribute to this planetary crisis.”
“We are also encouraging our more than 10,000 team members to join us in this fight by reducing the use and consumption of products contained or served in plastic in their daily lives as well. We hope this sets a meaningful example to other businesses to join the movement in working to stop the scourge of plastics on a global scale.”
It is estimated that an additional eight million tonnes of plastic pour into our oceans every year, this in addition to the more than five trillion pieces of plastic estimated to be littering the oceans at this moment.
The larger pieces of plastic injure, impair and kill wildlife, while the disintegration of plastic debris and the manufacturing of microbeads are wholly poisoning marine ecosystems.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, if nothing is done to push back against the deluge of plastics currently overwhelming our oceans there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
“Plastics are a clear and present danger to the future of our planet,” Céline Cousteau, TreadRight Ambassador said.
“TTC’s commitment to the elimination of single-use plastics across the group inspires hope in the face of a massive adversary and signals to the industry the important role travel and tourism organisations must play in combatting the problem of plastics.”
