Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group sees nearly 70% cut in annual plastic footprint

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic (SUP) across its portfolio of luxury hotels by end-March 2021 has encountered a delay due to slower-than-expected utilisation of existing SUP supplies due to low business levels. The group said the pandemic has led to temporary hotel closures and low occupancies, thereby slowing the depletion of existing stocks of plastic products by up to 12 months in some markets.

Source: MOHG. We Care packages for guests feature reusable fabric masks that are plastic-free.

By the end of Q121, the group has achieved a nearly 70% reduction in its annual plastic footprint. Based on estimated plastic stock depletion timelines and supplier delivery commitments, it is expected that all hotels will eliminate SUP by the end of Q122, avoiding 930 tonnes of plastic waste each year.

SUP is being eliminated across all areas of the hotels, including rooms, spa, transport, restaurants and bars as well as in back-of-house areas not seen by guests, such as offices, colleague areas and kitchens. To help colleagues work through their efforts to eliminate SUP, the most common SUP items were identified across the three main operational departments: F&B, spas and rooms. Of these, six high-impact items accounted for 81% of the annual SUP waste generated:

- Garbage bags (294 tonnes per year)

- Water bottles (7.7 million bottles per year)

- Slippers (816,000 pairs per year)

- Vacuum bags for food (88 tonnes per year)

- Cling film (80 tonnes per year)

- Amenities - shampoo, conditioner and shower gel (4.9 million bottles per year)

The Group continues to focus on eliminating SUP where feasible. For example, We Care packages for guests include reusable fabric facemasks that are plastic-free, but made exceptions for toothbrush bristles and hygiene seals for F&B items such as beverages or candy jars. MOHG is also working with suppliers to reach its goals.

“Although our ambitious timeline to eliminate all single-use plastic from our premises by the end of March 2021 has been deferred by one year, largely as a consequence of the pandemic, we have made massive progress, with a majority of our hotels expected to reach the elimination goal by the end of July this year,” said James Riley, Group Chief Executive.

The Group will issue another progress update in Q421.

Over 15% of plastic production to be of sustainable plastics by 2030

In a new report, The Sustainable Plastics Roadmap: Recycling, Bioplastics, and Alternatives, Lux Research forecasts that we have a long way to go towards sustainable plastics. 

Lux’s report explores the combined impact of new technologies and approaches on the six major commodity plastics – polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polypropylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) – focusing on the impact of four major types of threats to conventional plastics production: recycling, bio-based polymers, legislation, and alternative materials like paper and metal.

“A combination of negative consumer sentiment about plastics, regulation, and a global focus on sustainability have combined to push the issue of plastics sustainability to the fore,” explained Anthony Schiavo, Research Director at Lux. 

“In 2030, 15% of plastics will be sustainable, fuelled primarily by a tripling of global plastics recycling along with strong regulatory action that bans the most problematic types of plastic products. Chemicals companies will face stagnating demand for oil-derived plastics – even including pyrolysis oil – and must invest in recycling to find growth in the plastics space.”

Lux’s initial modelling effort focused on four scenarios highlighting regional differences in policy and infrastructure. 

“Even in our most aggressive case, there are major unresolved issues with plastics sustainability,” noted Schiavo. “In the likely case, we expect most groups to miss plastics sustainability goals despite making major strides on recycling and alternatives. 

"In addition, the gaps between different types of plastic will grow: The global PET recycling rate could reach as high as 60%, but we expect very little progress in direct PP or PS recycling. Major practical challenges – like the difficulty of waste collection and sorting and the unprofitability of pyrolysis – will still remain in 2030. 

"Companies that move quickly to build their own sustainable supply chains will find success, while those that wait for the ecosystem to fix these problems will be left behind.”

Anyone can start going plastic-free, anytime

Douglas, second from right, with friends. The enamel mugs

Douglas Yeo, Course Director, DIWA, is passionate about saving the environment. While he is best known for being the diver from Singapore who participated in the Thai cave rescue in 2018 and being nominated for Singaporean of the Year, he is also the person behind a steadily-growing campaign to go plastic-free.

The PlasticFREE initiative, backed by DIWA, is all about pledging to do more to reduce plastic waste. Those who pledge can start small, with our own lives, and share the message with family and friends. 

Yeo talked about going to McDonald's in Singapore, and instead of using the disposable plastic saucers available for ketchup and chilli sauce, just applying the sauces directly onto the food, for example. He suggested that gestures to go plastic-free can be shared on social media, and was delighted that Old Chang Kee at Rex, where we met, was using enamel crockery instead of plastic ones.

The PlasticFREE pledge is Save Our Sea And Earth, for which there is an annual supporting campaign of the same name to clean up the beach in Bintan, Indonesia every year. Yeo has been raising awareness about plastics with Bintan residents, and was heartened to see two large bags of rubbish cleared during the 6th campaign in 2018, as opposed to five or six bags in earlier campaigns.

The 2018 campaign worked with the Tanjong Pinang Kawal Tunas Kindergarten, local fishermen and friends. Yeo realised his message had had an impact when an older child came in 2018 with a younger sibling to participate, telling him that she had been involved in an earlier cleanup and remembered him from then.

Source: Scuba Rangers Singapore Facebook page. A poster for the PlasticFree campaign featuring Yeo.

Explore:

The event page for Save Our Sea And Earth 2018

A Facebook post about the PlasticFREE campaign

BPA-free could mean worse-for-you

Buy a colourful, clear plastic water bottle for sports or for children, and more likely than not, it will say that it is 'BPA free'. Concerns about bisphenol A (BPA) became widespread in 2008, and many brands have used replacements for this chemical for quite a few years now - at least in sports and for children, particularly babies.

While those who worry about BPA might rest easy with BPA-free products available, the problem hasn't quite gone away. One challenge is that BPA is still found elsewhere - it can be used for the thermal paper for receipts, to coat the cans used for canned food, or the inside of water pipes. There is currently no requirement to inform the public that these products contain BPA.

A bigger challenge is that the replacements for BPA, which are often also bisphenols, might have the same negative side-effects, or worse. An August 11 story in Scientific American noted that there is no requirement that replacements for BPA have to be tested. The story notes that bisphenol S (BPS), a replacement for BPA, may be just as bad, if not worse for humans, and outlines the research to date on its effects*.

A 2013 study from Korea has shown that several bisphenols including bisphenol AP, bisphenol M, and bisphenol P "exerted genotoxic** potentials that are greater than that of BPA" on chicken cells, while another outlines what happens to zebra fish exposed to BPS: egg production significantly decreased in the female fish, estrogen levels were higher for both males and females and testosterone levels lower for males, and there were fewer successful hatches if the parents had been exposed to BPS. A 2014 study from India further notes that BPS can affect proteins in the human body at lower concentrations than BPA.

Bisphenols can leak into the body, and are probably already affecting us if they have an effect. A 2012 study covering eight countries found that BPS can be detected in urine in Japan, China, the US, Kuwait, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Korea, in order of highest concentrations to lowest, albeit at lower concentrations than for BPA. Bisphenols are even found in dust in China, Japan, Korea and the US, with BPA, BPS and bisphenol F making up about 98% of the total.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that BPA levels found in daily life are generally safe, so it is a personal decision whether to make use of items which may not contain BPA or other bisphenols. There are stainless steel water bottles and food sold in glass jars, for example.

And while products are labelled 'BPA free', it it is not always clear what is being used to replace it. Some companies like Eden Foods*** calls its cans "BPA free" not because they have some other plastic in them, but because it is using an alternative made of vegetable resin enamel. The company asked their can suppliers what was being used, and has insisted on using the more expensive can lining that was used prior to modern can linings with BPA.

*This Mother Jones story dated March 2014 also discusses the issue.
**Genotoxic substances damage DNA, which can lead to cancer.
***Eden Foods has an online store but only delivers to customers in Canada, the US, Armed Forces Stations with US ZIP Codes and Puerto Rico. The company advises everyone else to call them to place an order. Check here for the number.