litter Archives - PATA Sustainability & Social Responsibility

Apr

Southeast Asia’s idyllic islands buckle under tourism strain

Tags: airports, beach tourism, environmental impact, government action, hotels, litter, plastic pollution, Recommended Reading, safety, sanitation, Southeast Asia, Sustainability, Sustainable Tourism

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Credit: Tourists walk amongst trash washed up on Kuta beach by seasonal winds, as workers attempt a clean-up in the background, on the Indonesian island of Bali February 15, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/Wira Suryantala/Antara Foto

The six-month closure of the Philippine tourism island of Boracay for a revamp after the country’s president branded it a “cesspool” reflects the growing pressures on beach resorts across Southeast Asia as visitor numbers surge.

Tourism experts say the region’s infrastructure is buckling under record visitor numbers, especially as more Chinese holiday abroad, and expect more drastic measures to come.

Airports have become chaotic, hotels are being thrown up hastily with little regard for safety and sanitation, tropical beaches are strewn with garbage and coral reefs are dying.

Thailand already has plans to shut its famous Maya Bay in the Phi Phi islands for four months this summer, while an environmental group is calling for urgent government action to tackle a “crisis” on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

Read the full article here.

By John Geddie and Amy Sawitta Lefevre for Reuters.

Oct

The eco guide to disposing of litter

Categories: Planet, Recommended Reading

Tags: eco guide, litter, packaging manufacturers, Recommended Readings, recycling, responsibility, waste

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What a load of rubbish: the traditional focus is on litter-picking volunteer groups. Photograph: Alamy

It’s time the responsibility for recycling was laid firmly at the door of the packaging manufacturers

Litter brings out an urge in me to ban everything. Under my regime, straws would be outlawed. Plastic drinks bottles – only 57% of which find their way into recycling – would be verboten. But top of the list of banned items would be wacky recycling surveys.

The latest, from Business Waste, highlights the craziest eco blunders found in the nation’s recycling bins. The list includes a car door, 1,000 Greenpeace badges (oh, the irony!) and a full Christmas dinner including plates, tablecloth, crackers and pudding.

Read the full article on ethical and green living here.

By Lucy Siegle for The Guardian.

Feb