How we cut our single-use plastic consumption by half a million items a year.

We’ve all seen the tragic footage circulating social media of mountains of plastic strewn across beautiful beaches around the world. It’s shocking and upsetting, and much of the problem is caused by humans’ over-reliance on single-use plastics.

Protecting Jersey's natural environment

As a business we owe much of our success to Jersey’s pristine natural environment; it’s what makes living here so special. Our clean seas and golden sandy beaches draw holidaymakers back to Jersey every year, whilst providing locals with a sanctuary on our doorsteps.

We couldn’t bear to see our Island's beaches strewn with plastic waste. That’s why at the beginning of 2018, we set our sights on drastically reducing our single-use plastic consumption across the entire Seymour Group.

Here are some of the initiatives we’ve put into action that aim to reduce our single-use plastic consumption by over half a million items each year.

Say goodbye to single-use plastic at The Splash

The Watersplash’s close proximity to the beach has always required us to use plastic cups instead of glass. When the sun’s out and the veranda is packed, it’s virtually impossible to wash enough multi-use plastic cups to keep up with our thirsty guests.

But as of December last year, we’ve replaced all the single-use plastic cups, plastic straws and plastic stirrers with eco-friendly alternatives. We’re also phasing out all our plastic sauce sachets, jam packaging and plastic cutlery, so by the time you're sipping an ice cold beverage and enjoying summer 2019, we’ll be single-use plastic free at The Splash. Cheers to that!

Refillables replace single-use at the Pomme

During our recent renovation of bedrooms at The Pomme d’Or, we fitted all the bathrooms with refillable soap, shampoo and shower gel dispensers. This small but significant change will reduce our annual plastic consumption by another 40,000 items.

It’s identifying small changes like this that has earned us recognition from Eco Active’s Programme Manager, Jane Burns:

"Nearly 300 million tons of plastic is produced across the world each year, a third of which is used just once before being discarded. The extent of the plastic crisis can feel daunting and overwhelming and often leaves people feeling unsure where they can start and the difference they can make. By understanding the single-use plastics we use we can begin to take responsibility for our role in this crisis.

"The Seymour Group are a shining example of the difference that one business can make. They have removed an impressive half a million single-use items from their business annually, and are continuing to monitor and question what they do so that they can further reduce their environmental impacts."

Rolling out our initiatives across the group

Each of our establishments use plastics differently. We tackled The Watersplash first because it required the most work to find viable solutions. Now we’ve got them in place, we’re rolling out eco-friendly plastics and refillable dispensers at The Merton, The Merton Suites and Greenhills Hotel.

We’re actively researching more ways to reduce plastic consumption across the entire group. Our Operations Manager, Matt Seymour, has been leading the charge and is keen to hear any suggestions you may have to help us become a plastic free business.

Our annual plastic reduction in numbers

By replacing them with eco-friendly and multi-use alternatives or removing them from operation completely, we're hoping to reduce our single-use plastic consumption by:

Plastic cups - 100,000

Straws - 80,000

Stirrers - 15,000

Takeaway cups & packaging - 185,000

Plastic cutlery - 6,000

Plastic jam/conserve packets - 8,000

Sauce sachets - 130,000

Shampoo, shower gel & soap bottles - 40,000

Total single-use plastic items replaced or removed = approx. 560,000

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