Yacht owners and crew are all too familiar with the ever-present plastic pollution in our oceans. Whilst many have a genuine desire to reduce their plastic footprint, the reality is that going plastic-free can be a challenge. One such challenge is trying to navigate the sea of greenwashing and false advertising. Products marketed as “plastic-free” or “eco” alternatives can still be harmful to the environment.
Enter the Plastic Free Balearics Certification program. This project is all about plastic reduction made easy – a handy toolkit for businesses in the hospitality industry to reduce their consumption and use of single-use plastic, or even get rid of it for good. This project is geared to help business owners make the right choices and avoid “fake” alternatives. They have done all the research, so you don’t have to.
Developed by Save the Med and Ibiza Preservation Foundation, it launched in June 2021 in collaboration with Plastic Free Ibiza and Formentera, and Plastic Free Menorca. The programme already assessed over 150 Balearic businesses in their journey towards becoming establishments free of single-use plastics.
To date, 81 hospitality sector companies (a total of 97 establishments) including hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, and now yachts, have earned certifications. This resulted in preventing more than 21 tonnes of plastic waste!
When it comes to reducing plastic pollution, the programme is even more ambitious than the recently passed Balearic waste law (8/2019), which bans the sale of single-use plastic products in the hospitality sector. This positions the Balearic hospitality sector at the forefront of the fight against single-use plastics and contributes to the transformation of the islands into a green and responsible tourist destination.
The Falcao Uno is the first yacht to be certified “Plastic Free Guardian” in Mallorca. “We decided to get certified because the programme was well aligned with the measures that we were already taking, such as reducing our waste generation and keeping our carbon footprint at a minimum. The PFB team did a thorough job to ensure we were doing it the right way and guided us on the alternatives we had when eliminating single-use plastics. The certification puts us in a pioneering position among our customers and we have received a lot of positive feedback about it,” said Carlos Samblás, owner of Falcao Uno Yacht Events.
It’s with this objective in mind that the Plastic Free Balearics program is also being implemented in the fast-paced world of yacht racing. Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue in sports, as the industry recognises its role in promoting positive environmental and social change.
In 2022, Save the Med joined the SPAIN SAILGP TEAM as Race for the Future Partner, working with them throughout the year to reduce their plastic footprint. Indeed, organisations such as 11th Hour Racing and SailGP have demonstrated that sailing fast doesn’t mean you have to forget about the planet. In the end, who wants to race across an ocean of plastic?
But whether on a racing yacht, a luxury cruise or a llaüt, we all have the shared objective; a clean and healthy Mediterranean Sea.
With its ambitious new program to regenerate and restore biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea, Save the Med sees Mallorca as the perfect place to begin practising a regenerative lifestyle – free of unnecessary waste and pollution and filled with hope and good practices.
The “Plastic Free Balearics” team is now offering a unique opportunity for 15 businesses in Mallorca to participate in the Certification Programme for free until September 2023, thanks to the support of CaixaBank and Fundació Sa Nostra. Want to jump aboard?
Visit plasticfreebalearics.org to find out more, download the free Guide to Honest Alternatives and register your interest to participate in the programme!
More info: mailto:bsp@savethemed.org
