Plastic Free 2022: how plastic is critically connected to your health

Six Senses has been serious about reducing disposable plastic for many years, going back to the 1990s with our signature water bottled in glass, and more recently with the elimination of plastic straws and disposable F&B containers from all our hotels in 2016. We are thrilled to see that so many hotel groups and other industries are beginning to take up the cause.

Stop the production

Why is it important to ban plastic and not just recycle it? First of all, much of the pollution occurs during production, extraction, use and disposal. When we recycle, half the damage is already done. We also don’t recycle everything, which is why we have a floating Great Pacific garbage patch three times the size of France. We just need to stop the production.

Harmful health effects

Plastic does not decompose. It only gets smaller. This is called microplastic. One plastic bottle breaks into 10,000 small pieces of plastic. Microplastic transfers toxic chemicals when consumed, affecting our health in ways that are just starting to emerge. From developmental and reproductive effects to allergies and asthma via cardiovascular and liver diseases, no area of our health is immune.

Completely free of plastic from 2022

That’s why, starting with single-use and disposable plastic as top priority, we aim to reduce exposure to this fossil-fuel based material for guests and communities, being mindful of its harmful impacts to wellness and wildlife.

We will transition to natural compostable materials in some cases, and to high quality reusable materials in other cases. We have inventoried all plastic items used in our hotel and spa operations, and are about 90% of the way there already, meaning we are now down to the finer details, such as how we get our suppliers to deliver food not in plastic containers and how we convince local authorities to agree to alternatives to plastic wrap.

We will be continuing to measure our progress in terms of the number of plastic items we can eliminate from the world, so please watch for updates over the coming months.