Tips to help reduce plastic – by hostels, for hostels

Responsible tourism is more than a trend – it’s a growing movement from?travellers?who are challenging the travel industry to offer more eco-friendly options.??

Many hostels are ahead of the curve and have already implemented?sustainability?initiatives to reduce their impact on the environment. This not only helps to lower their carbon footprint, but it makes them more attractive to guests.?Our?recent research shows?that?nine in ten (92%) hostel?travellers?are willing to pay more to stay in accommodation that cares for the environment?and more than three in five believe travel companies should be doing more to help customers travel sustainably.?

In 2020 we became a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI), and our role is to unite the hostel industry to address the root causes of plastic pollution.?Over 70%?of?our hostel?partners?are independent?businesses?and many don’t have?access to?sustainability support and guidance. Our role is?to?advise and guide hostels to better manage plastics in their operations. ?

This?article?aims to help hostels take the first steps towards reducing?unnecessary plastic from their operations, with tips from hostels that are already on the road to becoming plastic-free.?

Tip #1:?Conduct A?Plastic Audit?

A survey of?hostel partners?conducted?in 2020?found that?only 23%?said they?keep track of the plastic they use throughout their operations. Understanding where?plastic is being used?within hostel operations?and?how they are being used and why, can help create a clear picture to begin the process?of?becoming plastic free.??

The first step?Cohort?Hostel,?U.K. ?took was to complete an audit of their plastic usage. A main area of concern for them was the bar and café where they sold drinks in plastic bottles and found single-use plastic in condiments and sugar sachets.?In order to start being more sustainable throughout the hostel,?Kinlay?Hostel,?Ireland ?formed a ‘Green Team’ asking for volunteers from each department (e.g.?Housekeeping, Reception, Maintenance and Management) to help them explore ideas on what changes they could implement to become more sustainable.?

Challenge: Many hostels noted it can be?really hard?to keep track or account for every piece of plastic that comes into the hostel.?

Solution:?If?you’re?unsure where to start with your?plastic audit, you could start by picking five plastic products to?prioritise. For example,?identifying?the top five most purchased plastics?in your?supply chain, the top five most expensive plastic products, or top five most problematic?plastics?for staff/guests. You could aim to focus on just solving the problem for these five products as a starting point, so the problem feels smaller and more manageable.?

Key takeaways:?

• Note down every use of plastic within the hostel no matter how small?
• Start small – pick 1-5 key plastic items you want to tackle as a starting point and go from there. Don’t let the problem overwhelm you?
• Keep track of plastic items that are regularly replaced or thrown away (e.g.?disposable cups or cleaning products)?
• Provide?adequate?number of recycling bins?around the hostel, ensure they are visible and clearly labelled so guests know what waste can and?can’t?be recycled?

Tip #2:?Plastic Swap?

There are many small swaps hostels can make within their day-to-day operations to?greatly reduce?the amount of plastic being used.??

Why Me? Hostel,?Georgia ?and?Cohort Hostel?took steps to remove all single-use plastic cups, plates, and?cutlery?from all spaces used by guests, which greatly reduced their plastic consumption.?These were replaced with reusable cups, plates and cutlery.??

Recognising?the impact of plastic water bottles,?The Yard Hostel,?Thailand ??decided to switch to reusable bottles that guests can borrow for the duration of their stay,?as well as providing filtered water for them to refill their bottles.?

Cohort Hostel also eliminated all plastic bin liners from guest rooms and installed bright?colour-coded bins with stickers, which not only increased the?amount?of?recycled?items?in the hostel, but also raised awareness to guests?on?the meaning behind the new bins. In fact, Cohort Hostel noted that after implementing this new system, guests were more likely to clean out empty food containers first or would make the additional effort to put recyclable waste into the recycling bin down the corridor.?

Another suggestion from Cohort Hostel is to switch to environmentally friendly cleaning products, which they have found available to buy in large refillable containers.??

Challenge:?Although?travellers?want to see the travel industry?do more to be sustainable, there may be certain changes they’re not expecting. For?Why?Me??Hostel,?although they’ve received a very positive reception, some guests aren’t overly fond of having to wash their new reusable cups, plates and cutlery.?

Solution:?Jo&Joe?Paris, France ?noted that many guests still preferred to use disposable cutlery and plates. They made eco-friendly swaps?in their on-site restaurant?by?swapping?out their plastic?‘take-away'?packaging?for cardboard?alternatives and?swapped to bamboo cutlery?which can be easily recycled.??

It’s?important to engage your?staff and guests in your?sustainability initiatives. If you have your?team and guests fully on board with what you’re trying to do, you’ll see your?efforts go a long way.?

Key Takeaways:?

• Start by identifying the most problematic areas within the hostel’s operations and?work?out which products can be?easily swapped?(e.g.?plastic straws, cutlery or cups in kitchen areas, shampoo containers)?
• Some plastic is easier to remove than others, but in these cases try to find a recyclable or compostable plastic to replace it with?
• Where plastic is?currently?hard to avoid, try to reuse bottles?as much as you can by refiling them with?products, and buying from eco suppliers?
• Make sure your team and guests are aware of all the efforts you’re trying to make, and why. Bringing them on your journey with you will help?all your efforts go the extra mile??

Tip #3:?Review your suppliers?

One of the biggest uses of plastic within hostels is in food and beverage operations. Why Me? Hostel changed suppliers to reduce the amount of plastic being used in breakfast and drinks. They?also started sourcing products on their own without suppliers.?

Cohort Hostel found reducing the plastic provided by their suppliers as one of the most challenging parts of going plastic free. Many large hospitality suppliers use plastic to wrap products to protect them in transit or bundle large orders. As a small, independent business, it isn’t always easy to sway big suppliers into changing their operations. However, with time and as sustainability practices grow across industries, Cohort Hostel note that they are starting to notice a natural shift towards more sustainable practices. It’s also worth consistently reminding your?suppliers of the importance of reducing plastic – even if they’re unable to make changes right away. The more?hostels start to?raise their?concern, the more likely?your?supply chain will?start?to make changes to their operations.?

Challenge:?Why Me??Hostel?found it challenging when engaging with suppliers over switching from plastic to glass bottles. Unfortunately, some supplier’s factories refuse to swap from plastic to glass, which means they are unable to provide them with a more environmentally friendly option.???

Solution:?Collaborating with other accommodation providers or businesses in the region, as well as public authorities (such as Chambers of Commerce) and business associations can help give weight to the demands for more environmentally friendly options and influence suppliers.?You could also look to find alternative suppliers that are also trying to reduce their plastic usage.?

Key Takeaways:?

• Engage with suppliers to investigate plastic free or sustainable options where available?
• Engage with other accommodation providers or businesses in the region, as well as public authorities (such as Chambers of Commerce) to add weight to the demand?
• Recycle and properly separate any continued use of plastic supplied to the hostel?
• Where possible, research alternative materials or suppliers to provide more sustainable products within the hostel?

Tip #4: Explore carbon?offsetting?

This may be a term you’ve heard popping up recently, but what is carbon offsetting? In its most basic term, offsetting is a means of reducing your?carbon?emissions to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. The most common instances?of how to offset your?emissions?are seen in?organisations?that will plant trees to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.?

But carbon offsetting isn’t just something for larger hospitality businesses or airlines, hostels can also do this. Cohort?Hostel have had a carbon offsetting scheme at their?hostel for many years now, which they use to encourage guests to offset the carbon impact of their travel.?The?programme, called?‘Project: Planet Rebuild’ ?aims to?plant?2,500 trees by 2025 with the support of their guests.?Cohort also use the offsetting initiative to offset the essential carbon they emit as a business including their gas emissions, staff car travel, even the coffee and tea they buy.?

To introduce more nature to their building,?Star Hostel Taipei ?and?Jo&Joe?Paris?both turned the rooftops of their buildings into gardens. Not only is this a great way to supply your?on-site kitchens with organic?vegetables, but?it?can also reduce the amount of plastic packaging being brought into the hostel through food supplies.??

For Star Hostel Taipei, they believe cities would be more habitable if more buildings converted their concrete rooftops to greenery. They created theirs to increase plant coverage and create?a?mini-circular economy system that integrates into daily hostel operations. Not only do they use the garden for rainwater harvesting, but also for producing food for their?guests’?daily breakfasts and composting food waste.?Half of?Jo&Joe’s?rooftop is?a vegetable garden,?with more than 100 square?metres?of?organically grown food?they?serve?in their on-site restaurant.??

Not every rooftop can be easily adapted to idyllic gardens,?The Black Sheep Hostel,?Ireland ?instead use a 30-foot polytunnel in their back garden to grow and harvest their own vegetables and herbs. Ultimately, they plan to be completely carbon?neutral in?the next two years and believe the way to achieve this is through daily actions to improve their sustainability.?

Tip #5: Embrace new technologies?

For?Kinlay?Hostel, they noticed in a typical year they would replace over 3,000 lost keys and hand out over 38,000 single-use paper security passes. To severely reduce their plastic consumption, they switched over to a contactless check-in system, by using a mobile app to support guests and send them a virtual key – this did mean rooms had to be upgraded with a new door lock as well. But in the time of COVID-19, not only did this reduce plastic consumption but also the contact between guest and staff.??

Looking ahead?

Going?plastic free?isn’t something that can happen overnight, and even the hostels that have made great strides in reducing their plastic consumption still have ideas on how to take this further in the future.??

Looking to?utilise?the natural carbon scrubbing power of ocean life, Cohort?Hostel would like to plant seagrass as an alternative option for offsetting their carbon emissions?in the near future.??

Welcommon Hostel,?Greece ?has turned to green energy to power the hostel’s hot water system. By installing 20 solar panels on the roof of the hostel they not only reduce their air pollution, but also their energy consumption which will have a direct impact on their operation expenses.?

And?don’t?forget,?it’s?really important?to bring your?staff and guests?along on the journey, too. If you have their buy in from the get-go, your?efforts and initiatives are likely to go a lot further and help make a real?difference.?

Remember, every step is a positive step towards becoming sustainable, no matter how small you start.?Do some planning?before you get started and set yourself some realistic goals, again, it?doesn’t?matter how small they are.

Always feel free to contact us?at?Hostelworld?if?you have any questions, are looking for advice or?if you’d like to sign up?to?the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative! You can reach us at?[email protected] .??

Finally,?we’d?like to say a?big THANK YOU to?our?hostel partners for sharing?tips?and advice to help other hostels do their bit to reduce their plastic consumption.?

Cohort Hostel, UK?

The Yard Hostel, Thailand?

Why Me? Hostel, Georgia?

Jo&Joe?Paris, France?

Star Hostel Taipei Main Station, Taiwan?

Welcommon?Hostel, Greece?

Kinlay?Hostel, Ireland?

The Black?Sheep?Hostel, Ireland?

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