The Balearic Islands are leading the fight against plastic, not only from the regulations promoted by the regional government, but also from private initiatives such as Balearics Plastic Free, which is managing to remove hundreds of thousands of single-use objects from circulation. Now, these entities have launched a guide for hotels and restaurants to advise these companies on reducing plastic without reducing the quality of service.
The Plastic Free Balearics certification has managed to eliminate 16,394 kilos of plastic waste throughout the Balearic territory only during the 10-month pilot phaseas announced by those responsible for the presentation of the results of the initiative, held this Thursday in Palma.
As highlighted by the participating entities in a press release, this figure includes almost 760,000 33-cl plastic bottles eliminated from the supply chain.
Since the certification was launched in June 2021, until last March, 115 establishments have been evaluated (53 in Ibiza, 29 in Mallorca, 19 in Menorca and 14 in Formentera).
The result of this process, they have indicated, has been 67 establishments certified as Plastic Free Guardian, which have achieved from one to five stars in recognition of the percentage of good practices.
This implies that another 48 establishments, including some hotel chains, could not obtain recognition as they did not meet the requirements certification requirements, which require compliance with the Balearic Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils and European directives, and which, on the other hand, does not allow the use of bioplastics as an alternative to single-use plastics.
In any case, all the companies evaluated have been given an improvement report that includes the steps to follow to prevent the generation of waste and reduce their environmental footprint.
According to estimates by Plastic Free Balearics, If such improvements are implemented, an additional 28,450 kilos of waste per year would be eliminated, of which 6,319 kilos would be plastic waste.
The president and co-founder of the Save The Med Foundation, Bradley Robertson, has stated that the Balearic Islands is the autonomous community that generates the most waste per capita and the Plastic Free Balearics certification has been created to turn off the tap on plastic waste and curb the pollution that produced in the Islands.
For his part, the Minister for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, has supported the objectives of the certification and has argued that the vision of waste management must begin in everyday life and must lead to society.
Mir has claimed that the Balearic Waste Law, advancing European policies and state regulations, has set a first milestone on the road of waste prevention.
However, it has transferred the “essential” need for social initiatives such as Plastic Free Balearics. “Only in this way can we face the challenge and the environmental emergency: it is necessary to build a joint, transversal and holistic action”, she stated.
A guide for companies in the tourism sector
The Plastic Free Balearics certification, an even more ambitious initiative than the law itself, aims to help HORECA companies on the four islands to eliminate single-use plastics and provides the sector with tools to facilitate its implementation.
The Guide to Honest Alternatives to single-use plastics for HORECA companies is one of the main tools developed by the project, and its launch coincides with the anniversary of the entry into force of the Balearic Law 8/2019 on Waste and Contaminated Soil, in operation since March 20, 2021. This rule prohibits the sale, distribution and use of single-use products such as plates, cutlery, glasses, cups and disposable food trays made of plastic, as well as plastic rings from beverage packages.
“From our experience, the waste law has helped to remove many single-use plastics from the supply chain of companies. We recognize its positive impact, but Plastic Free Balearics wants to go further encouraging HORECA companies -those related to the restaurant and hospitality sectors- to replace single-use plastics with reusable options”, says Myrto Pispini, coordinator of the project.,
A guide to combat greenwashing
The Honest Alternatives guide, now available for free download from the web plasticfreebalearics.org, It is an anti-greenwashing based strictly on environmental criteria, specifically on a quantitative index that qualifies the products according to their degree of impact on the environment. “In this way, companies are helped not only to comply with the Waste Law and European directives, but also to lead the change towards a circular economy and contribute to the regeneration of the archipelago”, says Jaime Bagur, project manager.
The new guide identifies those alternatives that have less environmental impact, in addition to “false alternatives” such as bioplastics. The objective is to facilitate purchasing decisions in the HORECA sector and promote knowledge of real and honest alternatives, which result in a lower environmental impact according to scientific evidence.
This new tool is co-financed by the Consell de Mallorca and the Monegasque association Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed). BeMed has also co-financed the development of the certification Plastic Free Balearicsan initiative created and promoted by the Save the Med and IbizaPreservation foundations, which also has the participation of Plastic Free Ibiza and Formentera and Plastic Free Menorca, and whose objective is to reduce plastic pollution throughout the Balearic territory.
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