Over the next five years The Travel Corporation(TTC) and its family of 29 global brands around the world will attempt to phase out all single-use plastics with its “Multi-Year Plastics Elimination Strategy”.
The announcement comes as TTC, under the guidance of their not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, officially instituted an immediate ban of more than 60 types of single-use plastic items such as straws, stir sticks, water bottles, plastic bags, and cutlery from its 40 global offices across its exceptional portfolio of brands.
The single-use plastic ban at TTC offices is the first step in the group’s journey to the complete elimination of single-use plastics across all operations. With 1.9 million travelers annually across the group, it is estimated that TTC’s effort has the potential to help eliminate the use of millions of plastic water bottles annually.
The group began working towards the elimination of avoidable plastic waste when its Toronto, Canada office took the first important step of banning single-use plastics more than a year ago, replacing the items with viable alternatives. That action was soon followed by Red Carnation and Uniworld, who soon eliminated the purchase of all plastic straws and related single-use plastic items from their 17 properties and 20 ships.
Brett Tollman, Chief Executive, TTC and Co-Founder of The TreadRight Foundation, said they were committed to doing their part to eliminate avoidable plastic waste and making a positive impact within communities.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, if nothing is done to push back against the deluge of plastics currently overwhelming our oceans there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
“Plastics are a clear and present danger to the future of our planet,” says Céline Cousteau, TreadRight Ambassador. “TTC’s commitment to the elimination of single-use plastics across the group inspires hope in the face of a massive adversary and signals to the industry the important role travel and tourism organizations must play in combating the problem of plastics.”