Beach Products for a Planet Conscious Summer
Our Client hotel guests will be super styling with their Beyond Bamboo beach products this year. Here are some statistics about how single use plastics effect the beaches and tourism:
1. Single‑use plastics from the hospitality industry
Globally, the hotel industry produces around 150 million tonnes of single‑use plastic each year, much of which ends up in the oceans
Hotels typically rely on items like plastic toiletries, bottles, cups, stirrers, and bin liners—many provided for hygiene or convenience
Only about 10% of plastic packaging is recycled, while approximately 32% ends up in the sea annually
A Clean The World–based report noted: of 44 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2019, just 5% was recycled, 86% was landfilled, and 9% incinerated. Hospitality contributes significantly to that total
In the UK, hotels generate about 289,700 tonnes of waste per year, with a notable share being single‑use plastics
2. Beach litter and plastics on UK coastlines
The Marine Conservation Society’s 2024 “State of Our Beaches” report found volunteers collected 764,451 pieces of litter across UK beaches—an average of 170 items per 100 m (i.e. nearly 2 items per square metre)
Year‑on‑year, single‑use plastic litter rose by 9.5% in 2024 compared to 2023
Over 60% of beach litter items are single‑use plastics, while overall plastics comprise roughly 80% of all marine debris found on beaches globally
In the UK, nearly 90% decrease in plastic bags on beaches has been achieved since the carrier bag charge was introduced, showing policy impact
Among the items most frequently found: plastic caps, lids, bottles, crisp packets, and cutlery—all typically single‑use
3. Tourism‑driven impacts (globally)
In Mediterranean coastal tourism zones, seasonal visitor influx can raise marine plastic litter by up to 33%, due largely to increased reliance on items like bottled water and packaged refreshment products
Some tourism‑heavy regions—especially small islands in Africa—are seeing disproportionately high single‑use plastic waste from tourists, especially water bottles and sachets, due to poor recycling infrastructure
Initiatives like refillable hotel water systems and refill toiletries dispensers are being introduced but require collaborative engagement across hotels, government, and NGOs to scale effectively
