Mandarin Oriental continues bid to eliminate single-use plastic

Mandarin Oriental says it has made “significant progress” towards meeting its goal of eliminating single-use plastic across its portfolio of luxury hotels.

The hotel group has reduced its annual plastic footprint by nearly 70% despite “ongoing challenges” delaying its initial deadline of March 2021 - a target set in October 2019.

Based on estimated plastic stock depletion timelines and supplier delivery commitments, Mandarin Oriental said it expects all hotels to eliminate single-use plastic by the end of Q1 2022.

Once complete, the hotel group will save 930 tonnes of plastic waste each year.

A statement from the brand highlighted a delay in usage of existing single-use plastic and low business levels caused by the pandemic as the reason it hadn’t met its original deadline.

“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,” the brand said.

The group aims to eliminate single-use plastic across all areas of its hotels, including rooms, spa, transport, restaurants and bars, as well as in back-of-house areas such as offices, colleague areas and kitchens.

The most common single-use plastic items were identified across three main operational departments - F&B, spa and rooms.

Of these, six high-impact items accounted for 81% of annual single-use plastic waste generated. They include garbage bags, water bottles, slippers, vacuums bags for food, cling film and amenities such as shampoo, conditioner and shower gel.

Mandarin Oriental said it would progressively phase out the use of synthetic materials made with plastic fibres given their contribution to microplastics in the environment, with eco-alternatives reviewed periodically.

The group has also introduced a We Care package for its guests (pictured) featuring reusable fabric facemarks.

However, the brand admitted there were exceptions to its commitment to eradicate single-use plastic in regard to health and safety, including toothbrush bristles, hygiene seals for F&B items and medical grade kit.

Supplier packing is also excluded from the group’s plastic calculations but hotels continue to tackle this through “collaborative actions” with suppliers, the group said.

“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 group chief executive James Riley.

“Despite the ongoing challenging conditions, our colleagues have continued to embrace our commitment to deliver on the group’s sustainability responsibilities.”

The group will issue a further report on progress in Q4 2021.