If you look inside the recycle bins at the Drift Away Eco-Lodge, you’ll notice that the recycle bin labelled ‘plastics’ is usually empty. No, it’s not because we don’t like to recycle, nor is it because our guests aren’t environmentally conscious. It’s because Drift Away Eco-Lodge is a single-use plastic-free zone. We are working towards a plastic-free lifestyle, starting with minimizing our own plastic use and making it easy for our guests to do the same during their stay in Playa Avellanas. It means less plastic on our property, less plastic littering our forests and roadways, and less plastic on our beach and in our ocean.
It’s our way of keeping this little corner of the world less polluted and more beautiful for the people who live here – and for the guests who visit from all over the world.
For example, our rooms and villas feature high quality, stainless steel, insulated, reusable water bottles. They are free for our guests to use during their stay at Drift Away Eco-Lodge. Guests can refill their bottles at our on-site water stations and take the bottles with them to the beach or wherever they go. At the end of their stay they can choose to purchase the stainless steel bottles ($20) or leave them to be washed and sanitized for the next guests. There is no need to buy plastic water bottles from the store.
All of our cleaning products and in-room toiletries are bought in bulk containers, which are returned for re-use. These products are also made locally, are bio-degradable and eco-friendly. We also make a concerted effort to avoid using plastic bags when we shop, and avoid plastic packaging in the products we buy. It’s part of our sustainability mission, and our commitment to our environment and our community.
It’s become abundantly clear lately that recycling alone isn’t the answer. It’s questionable whether much of the plastic we throw into recycling bins is actually recycled anyway. And now that China no longer accepts most the recycling waste from the Americas, it is more and more difficult to guarantee that the plastic bottle you toss in the recycle bin won’t end up in a landfill or a waterway.
The Drift Away Eco-Lodge is simply doing its part to reduce this plastic waste, alongside a growing number of business and jurisdictions.
In March 2019, San Francisco, U.S.A. became the first major city to ban the sale of plastic water bottles. In April 2019 New York State agreed to ban single-use plastic bags. Bars and restaurants around the globe are banning the use of plastic straws. And The UK Government has announced plans to ban single-use plastics including straws, cotton buds, and stirrers.
It’s a start.
But the amount of plastic pollution still being released into the world every day is enormous. A completely plastic-free life is a tough mountain to climb, but eliminating single-use plastic, and reducing our general plastic use is easy. And it’s the first step in keeping our own little corners of the world clean and plastic-free.