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Industry thanked for supporting Make Holidays Greener campaign
ABTA has thanked travel companies and holidaymakers who took part in this year’s Make Holidays Greener (MHG) campaign.
It said an estimated 49 tonnes of plastic waste, equivalent to the weight of around 30 cars, was either avoided or removed from the environment as a result of the efforts.
The campaign, led by ABTA in partnership with Travelife for Accommodation, ran from June to September.
Over 70 ABTA members and travel businesses participated in the campaign which focused on plastics this year.
Nearly 2,300 people took part in clean-up operations and more than 1,200 sustainable holiday pledges were made by holidaymakers, of which a third were to ‘say no to plastic’.
Nikki White, ABTA director of destinations and sustainability, said: "There have been some fantastic initiatives and it’s been a great opportunity for travel companies to share best practice of what has worked, try out new approaches and get customers involved.
"Make Holidays Greener is one part of a broader, long term, approach to sustainability that ABTA members and destinations have been working on for some time. On plastic, our work includes promoting recycling in destination and supporting tour operators on developing a strategic approach to reducing plastic.~
"I would like to thank everyone who has taken part this year and remind ABTA members that more support is available if they would like to further develop their sustainability approach beyond the summer."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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