We-Recycle have join Global Tourism Plastics Initiative

We-Recycle has become a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, led by the United Nations Environment Programme and World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative unites the tourism sector behind a common vision to address the root causes of plastic pollution. It enables businesses and governments to take concerted action, leading by example in the shift towards a circularity in the use of plastics.

As a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, We-Recycle commits to eliminate, innovate and circulate its use of plastics. Specifically, by the end of 2025, We-Recycle commits to:
• Encourage affiliated organizations, businesses, and partners in Mauritius to join the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative by providing training on reducing single-use plastics, promoting recycling, and organizing clean-up activities to raise waste management awareness;
• Advise and guide these affiliates to better manage plastics by adopting relevant practices, criteria, standards, and policies, and support them in implementing their Global Tourism Plastics Initiative commitments through training and technical advice;
• Communicate our achievements to affiliates, partners, travellers, and local stakeholders, sharing all training and awareness activities via our social media channels and quarterly newsletters.

« At We-Recycle, our core focus on awareness-raising and plastic collection fits perfectly with the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative’s ambition, enabling us to bring practical, enduring solutions to the tourism sector and the wider community.” Antoine Kon-Kam King, Vice-President at We-Recycle.

Developed within the framework of the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the One Planet network, a multi-stakeholder partnership to implement SDG 12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production, the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative is led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Tourism Organisation, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative acts as the tourism sector interface of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which unites more than 450 businesses, governments, and other organisations behind a common vision and targets to address plastic waste and pollution at its source. As such, the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative will implement the New Plastics Economy vision, framework and definitions to mobilise the global tourism industry towards concerted significant action against plastic pollution.

The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative aims to stop plastic ending up as pollution while also reducing the amount of new plastic that needs to be produced. To realise this vision, tourism companies destinations commit to eliminate the plastic items they don’t need; innovate so all plastics they do need are designed to be safely reused, recycled, or composted; and circulate everything they use to keep it in the economy and out of the environment.

The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative requires tourism organisations to make a set of concrete and actionable commitments by 2025:
• Eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and items by 2025;
• Take action to move from single-use to reuse models or reusable alternatives by 2025;
• Engage the value chain to move towards 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable;
• Take action to increase the amount of recycled content across all plastic packaging and items used;
• Commit to collaborate and invest to increase the recycling and composting rates for plastics; • Report publicly and annually on progress made towards these targets.

By transitioning to circularity in the use of plastics, the tourism sector can make positive contributions like reducing landfill, pollution, natural resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions; raising awareness of conservation among staff and guests to avoid single-use plastic products; influencing their suppliers to produce more sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic products; working with governments to improve local waste infrastructure and community facilities; and creating sustainable livelihoods and long-term community prosperity in harmony with nature.

By taking serious action in a coordinated and determined manner on plastic pollution, the tourism sector can help preserve and protect the places and wildlife that make destinations worth visiting.