Marriott International is set to remove plastic straws and drink stirrers from all of its 6,500 hotels and resorts worldwide by next year, including the two hotels in Santa Clarita.
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The hotel company announced Wednesday that the move will eliminate approximately 1 billion straws and 250 million stirrers by July 2019.
“We are proud to be among the first large U.S. companies to announce that we’re eliminating plastic straws in our properties worldwide,” said Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International.
Marriott’s plastic straw initiative is the latest change the company is making to enhance the sustainability of its operations and reduce plastic consumption.
A single plastic straw, which might be used for about 15 minutes, will never fully decompose, according to hotel officials.
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“Removing plastic straws is one of the simplest ways our guests can contribute to plastic reduction when staying with us,” Sorenson said. “We are committed to operating responsibly, and with over 1 million guests staying with us every night, we think this is a powerful step forward to reducing our reliance on plastics.”
Earlier this year, Marriott began replacing small toiletry bottles in guest bathrooms with larger, in-shower dispensers that distribute more product for guests to use, reducing waste.
The new toiletry dispensers are expected to be in place at more than 1,500 hotels in North America by the end of this year, which would enable Marriott to eliminate more than 35 million small plastic toiletry bottles annually that typically go to landfills, according to hotel officials.
Marriott International’s plastic straw initiative will take full effect by July 2019, giving hotel management enough time to deplete their existing supply of plastic straws, identify sources of alternate straws and educate staff to modify customer service.
As part of the initiative, hotels will offer alternative straws upon request.
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