Holiday Park operator, Away Resorts, has received the coveted title of Plastic Free Business Champion in recognition of its conservation work and its mission to remove single-use plastics from its sites.
The title was awarded by marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage, which runs a Plastic Free Community network across the UK to encourage businesses to invest in sustainability and remove avoidable single use plastics from their eco-systems.
Away Resorts has 23 locations across the UK including Tattershall Lakes and Cleethorpes Pearl in Lincolnshire, Mersea Island in Essex, The Bay Filey in Yorkshire and Retallack and St Ives Bay in Cornwall – many of which are close to popular beaches.
The popular holiday park operator has always invested in sustainability, but its environmental work accelerated this year after it entered into a conservation partnership with Surfers Against Sewage.
As part of its Plastic Free Community status, visitors to the park can expect to see a range of measures introduced. These include:
- Plastic bags replaced with brown paper bags across all parks
- All printed materials are now on carbon capture paper
- Takeaway food boxes in cardboard, no plastic straws and condiment sachets replaced with crockery condiment pots
- Welcome pack goodies and toiletries are bought through sustainable businesses with recycled products
- Removing plastic bottles and introducing reusable cups
- Plastic Free Champions at each park equipped with the Surfers Against Sewage toolkit to help them reduce single-use plastics further.
Alongside these measures, Away Resorts has drawn up an extensive environmental strategy for its parks which includes reducing energy and water consumption where possible, embedding sustainable sourcing into all procurement decisions, and encouraging the use of public transport for guests and employees.
Carl Castledine, CEO of Away Resorts, said, “We aim to be a leader in environmental sustainability, and know that we have a big responsibility to protect our beautiful British coastline for future generations. I’m very proud of the work our teams are doing to improve the sustainability of our parks, and for Away Resorts to be named a Plastic Free Business Champion is fantastic recognition of our shared environmental goals. At the same time, we know there is plenty more work to be done – we’re on a journey, working towards a greener future for everyone.”
To date, Away Resorts has worked with SAS to supply beach cleaning equipment and information packs for holidaymakers so that they could play their part in beach clean-ups to help promote litter free coastlines and nature spots while visiting these beautiful destinations.
Emma Cowley of Surfers Against Sewage said: “Since we began working with Away Resorts, we’ve been very impressed with how the whole business has got involved with supporting our work to protect our beaches, waves and wildlife from plastic pollution. Away Resorts have shown through their actions and ambition that they are committed to removing single-use plastics from their parks, and so we’re delighted to welcome them as a new member of our Plastic Free Community.”
For more information, please visit www.awayresorts.co.uk/surfers-against-sewage.
