The Hilton has banned plastic straws from all of its hotels

Global hotel chains have a “huge responsibility” to remove plastic waste from our oceans, claims the Hilton as it becomes the latest to remove plastic straws from its branches.

Hilton has banned plastic straws from its hotels, and has transformed 10,000 of them into a miniature skyline sculpture. (Photo: Hilton)

Hilton said it will remove plastic straws from all managed hotels around the world by the end of 2018, as well as removing plastic water bottles from its conference rooms, which would make it the first hotel chain to successfully ban both disposables worldwide.

The hotel group currently uses around five million plastic straws each year, while people who attend business meetings and conferences at Hilton hotels get through up to 20 million water bottles anually.

The news comes ahead of the publication of the EU’s draft directive on single use plastics.

Hilton is the latest hotel to distance itself from disposable plastics. Marriot began phasing them out in February 2018, while the Four Seasons announced its pledge to ban plastic straws in April.

Simon Vincent, executive vice president of Hilton’s European, Middle-Easter and African operations, said the chain has a “huge responsibility” to set an example within the industry.

“Extending a ban on plastic straws across our managed portfolio is an important move in the right direction, and one which we are committed to building on in the coming years.”

In the restaurant sector, Ei Group, Be At One, All Bar One, Wagamama and JD Wetherspoon have all pledged to remove plastic straws from their sites in recent months.

Like Vincent,

Michel Miserez, Marriott International’s UK VP, believes hotels have a “global responsibility” to clean up the environment, and the sector’s image

“Our UK hotels used 300,000 straws last year,” he said.

“By removing plastic straws from our hotels in the UK we are making a small but significant step in playing our part in reducing the volume of plastic that damages our environment and wildlife.

“Marriott International has a global responsibility and unique opportunity to be a force for good in all aspects of our business. Incorporating environmental and social initiatives like this one into our business is the right thing to do.”

Some 500 million straws are discarded in the US every day, according to the country’s National Park Service, and take hundreds of years to deteriorate.