Portugal’s hoteliers association, AHRESP, has launched its 'Less Plastic, More Environment’ campaign with the support of the Environmental Fund of the Ministry of the Environment.
The objective is clear, to reduce the use of plastic items in the national catering and hospitality sectors to reduce the current environmental impact, especially at sea.
"Global plastics production has increased 20-fold since 1969, reaching 322 million tonnes in 2015. These figures are worth more than a reflection and need a proactive attitude towards protecting our planet.
“Although Portugal performs well in terms of its recycling rate for plastic packaging - well above the 22.5% target - we want to go further and make the restaurant and hotel industry a global reference," said Ana Jacinto, Secretary General of the AHRESP.
The 'Less Plastic, More Environment' campaign runs from May to October this year and aims to raise awareness among business people, consumers, tourists, institutional and governmental entities and the media.
The association said that planned actions include the collection and analysis of the consumption of plastics in the sector, the dissemination of information through a website and social networks, the presence of groups of campaign promoters who will be collecting plastics at some of the country's major music festivals, fairs and beaches.
There will be a nationwide road-show and the development of a network of restaurants and hotels that will be promoting and practicing a range of good environmental practices .
At the end of the campaign, a conference is planned where the results of this initiative will be evaluated and the plastic waste that has been collected, will be weighed.
The initiative fits in with the European Commission’s latest ambitious proposal to tackle plastic pollution by substituting plastic with more sustainable alternatives and making manufacturers more responsible for their products, especially those producing fishing equipment, cigarette packets, drink bottles, food packaging and plastic bags, among others.
Environmental campaigners, Zero, said this is progress but the EU proposal has major flaws, including the lack of national targets for a reduction in disposable food packaging and plastic cups, as well the plan to review the situation only in 2027.
However, the EU plan is for 90% of plastic bottles to be separated and recycled by 2025 by making producers responsible for implementing a deposit or other returns system.
As for disposable sanitary products, the EU says that consumers must be informed of the negative impacts to the environment of inappropriate disposal after use.
Portugal hoteliers and restaurateurs are leading the way at a sector level.
