The Plastic Free Balearics certification manages to eliminate more than 16,000 kg of plastic
In total, 67 establishments in the HORECA sector now have this seal of quality in the prevention of single-use plastics, which is endorsed by the Balearic Government.
Illes Balears, 5 May 2022 – The Plastic Free Balearics certification has managed to eliminate 16,394 kg of plastic waste throughout the Balearic Islands during the 10-month pilot phase alone, as announced by those responsible for the initiative at the presentation of results, held today in Palma. This figure includes almost 760,000 33cl plastic bottles removed from the supply chain.
Since the certification was launched in June 2021, until last March, 115 establishments have been evaluated: 53 in Ibiza, 29 in Mallorca, 19 in Menorca and 14 in Formentera. The result of this process has been 67 establishments certified as Plastic Free Guardian, which have achieved 1 to 5 stars in recognition of the percentage of good practices, “Honest Alternatives” implemented in the substitution of single-use plastic products (PSU).
This means that 48 other establishments, including some hotel chains, could not obtain the recognition because they did not meet the minimum requirements of the certification, which requires compliance with the Balearic Law on Waste and Contaminated Soil and European directives, and which, on the other hand, does not allow the use of bioplastics as an alternative to single-use plastics.
In any case, all the assessed companies have been given an improvement report that includes the steps to be taken to prevent waste generation and reduce their environmental footprint. According to estimates by Plastic Free Balearics, if these improvements were implemented, an additional 28,450 kg of waste would be eliminated per year, of which 6,319 kg would be plastic waste.
“The Balearic Islands are the autonomous community that generates the most waste per capita and the Plastic Free Balearics certification has been created to turn off the tap of plastic waste and curb the pollution it produces on our islands,” says Bradley Robertson, president and co-founder of the Save The Med Foundation, “Our vision is to make the Balearic Islands an exemplary territory free of single-use plastics,” he adds.