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Plastic-Free Hospitality: What You Need To Know About Eco-friendly Packaging

Plastic-Free Hospitality: What You Need To Know About Eco-friendly Packaging

Asia Sustainable Travel
April 03, 2025

Hello, everyone!

Welcome to April. This month, we’re diving into the future of sustainable F&B in Asia with bold ideas and game-changing solutions.

Kicking things off, this week’s Feature Story tackles one of the industry’s biggest challenges—plastic packaging waste in hospitality—and explores innovative ways to make it a thing of the past.

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Plastic-Free Hospitality: What You Need To Know About Eco-friendly Packaging

Photos by Bunzl Catering Supplies

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that global plastic production exceeds 430 million tonnes each year.

Packaging is the largest contributor to single-use plastic waste, making up about 36% of all plastic produced. This includes disposable food and beverage packaging, with approximately 85% ending up in landfills, waterway, and oceans.

Transitioning to reusable, compostable, or biodegradable packaging is essential to curb this growing plastic crisis, yet many hotels and restaurants face challenges in making the switch.

Top 3 Misconceptions Holding Back Green Packaging in Hospitality

Raphael Cazalbou, Co-Founder and CEO of TURN GREEN, highlights cost and supply chain constraints, material performance issues, and blind trust in eco-labels as the leading misconceptions that hold hotels back from adopting plastic-free packaging.

1. Cost and Supply Chain Constraints

The higher cost of biodegradable or compostable packaging materials than conventional plastic is partially because of the newness of the technology and the lower production volumes.

Hotels often struggle to justify the higher costs of sustainable packaging, especially when ROI is difficult to quantify.

Raphael explains, “While some hotels believe green transitions may be upfront costs, the long-term benefits such as reduced waste management fees, improved brand reputation, and alignment with consumer preferences far outweigh the initial investment.”

2. Durability and Performance Issues

Hotels worry about durability, aesthetics, or functionality, especially for premium guest experiences. For example, biodegradable materials, which could be plant-based, can degrade under heat or moisture, making them impractical for certain food and beverage applications.

Some compostable options lack durability compared to plastic, leading to potential customer dissatisfaction.

Raphael explains, “When working with the right partners, hotels will find that eco-friendly materials can meet or even exceed the quality of conventional plastics.”

3. Not All “Eco-Friendly” Products Are Equal.

Raphael points out that choosing products with "eco-friendly" labels may not solve the sustainability challenges. For example, products made of a blend of plastic and natural waste such as coffee do not create any benefits and could be worse off as they are not recyclable or compostable.

A product labeled as “eco-friendly” might still have a high environmental footprint due to energy-intensive manufacturing and excessive water use.

Graphic by Greenmatch

The Cost of Inaction: 3 Consequences of Ignoring Responsible Packaging

1. Severe and Widespread Environmental Damage Affecting the Very Existence of Tourism

With approximately 80% of tourists visiting coastal areas, intensifying plastic waste accumulation mars the very aesthetic appeal that attracts visitors.

2. Growing Regulatory and Compliance Risks

Businesses are encouraged to take the risk-averse approach, which is adopting plastic-free material to prevent running into any potential non-compliance and associated penalties.

3. Losing Out on Sustainability-Minded Guests

A Booking.com report reveals that 81% of travelers expect hotels to adopt sustainable practices—and this number is only rising. Today’s eco-conscious travelers aren’t just expecting change, they’re willing to pay a premium for responsible choices.

While economic challenges influence consumer priorities, the underlying demand for sustainable practices in hospitality remains strong.

»»» Go deeper here.

4 Things to Know Before Adopting Eco-friendly Packaging

1. Spot True Green Packaging through Eco Labels

»»» Take a look at the different rice-husk-made objects at 21 Carpenter Singapore here.

Raphael recommends looking for products certified by internationally recognized standards like OK Compost, EN 13432, and OK Biodegradable WATER. These eco-labels are among the most rigorous in verifying a product’s environmental claims.

Source: DMD ECO WORLD

2. Know Your Product’s Material Composition

It’s also important to be diligent and understand the material composition of your packaging. The key is to determine if they are genuinely eco-friendly. Raphael advises caution with vague labels like “plant-based” that lack clear evidence; it would be useful to request a detailed third-party testing from your supplier.

»»» Learn more about how spent grains, bagasse, and cassava can be transformed into sustainable packaging here.

3. Understand Packaging End-of-Life

»»» Go deeper into how biodegradable and compostable materials require end-of-life management here.

4. Build a Transparent Supplier Partnership

Transparency ensures that materials are ethically sourced, environmentally friendly, and compliant with sustainability standards. Raphael recommends partnering with suppliers who provide full documentation and are willing to share test results, certifications, and production processes.

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