Sands China, an integrated resort developer and operator in Macau, has eliminated plastic straws across its operations to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics.
The move is part of the company’s new initiative to reduce the use of single-use plastics across its properties.
The hospitality company expects to eliminate the use of 2.2 million plastic straws and save 1t of plastic annually.
Sands China resort operations and development senior vice-president Mark McWhinnie said: “Our company is constantly looking for new ways to decrease our carbon footprint so that we can be ever more responsible stewards of our environment.
“This ban on plastic straws, along with other plastic-reduction measures, will have a significant impact on our sustainability efforts, resulting in a greener Macao.”
The company is planning to replace single-use bathroom amenities such as shampoo and conditioner bottles with refillable dispensers across its hotel rooms early this year. This move is expected to eliminate around 2.7 million plastic bottles per year.
In an effort to reduce the number of plastic water bottles, Sands China has also redesigned complimentary water bottle packaging. It has resulted in the annual reduction of three million water bottles.
The resort chain is installing filtered water dispensers in public areas at its properties on a trial basis in a move to reduce the usage of bottled water.
Sands China has also committed to eliminate, replace, or recycle 95% of single-use plastic packaging, clothes hangers and garment clips across its laundry services.
