Plastic Free July 2024: Sands Highlights Efforts To Reduce Reliance on This Environmentally Challenging Material

Published by Las Vegas Sands on July 25, 2024

This month has been designated as Plastic Free July to raise awareness about the environmental impact of plastic waste and pollution, particularly with single-use plastic items. The campaign challenges individuals and organizations to commit to reducing plastic use and eliminating plastic waste, as well as provides ideas and solutions for sustainable alternatives that can minimize plastic reliance and inspire action.

Plastic waste is a growing environmental problem. The United Nations Environmental Programme estimates that 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced every year. If current trends continue, global production of primary plastic is forecasted to reach 1,100 million tons by 2050, which will further increase plastic waste.

These numbers demonstrate how ubiquitous plastic has become, particularly in product packaging. Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers. Approximately 85% of these plastic containers end up in landfills or as unregulated waste.

Oceans are one of the largest receptacles for this waste, with estimates that 75-199 million tons of plastic are currently found in oceans. Unless changes in plastic production, use and disposal come to fruition, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from 9-14 million tons per year in 2016 to a projected 23-37 million tons per year by 2040.

For these reasons, Sands has made addressing plastic and packaging one of its top environmental priorities. The company works to replace these materials with sustainable alternatives and has established mechanisms to responsibly handle plastic waste.

“The nature of our business requires products and amenities that have been heavily reliant on plastics, but we have taken a committed and methodical approach to determining where we can eliminate, reduce and reuse to be more sustainable,” Katarina Tesarova, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer, said. “We have prioritized addressing solutions for our highest-volume plastic products and strive to eliminate single-use items that are more prone to escaping into the environment.”

Transitioning to Reusable and Sustainable Water Solutions

A primary plastic-reduction priority has been a multi-year effort to replace Sands-branded plastic water bottles with reusable or sustainable alternatives. The company has set a goal for 100% replacement by 2025. At the end of 2023, Sands had incorporated sustainable solutions in 61% of branded water bottles.

In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands has fully transitioned 100% of its branded water bottles to recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) and is continuing to incorporate reusable options into other plastic applications.

Sands China’s plastic water bottle use on casino floors grew over the past year due to higher visitation numbers in 2023, which prompted increased purchasing and the need to source a wide variety of products, resulting in a lower percentage of bottles with sustainable attributes. To address its reliance on plastic, Sands China has established several initiatives, including exploring the addition of refill counters and water trolleys on casino floors.

Sands China also is working to promote recycling of plastic water bottles leaving its resorts by partnering with water bottle supplier Bonaqua to add product labeling that guides users to recycle bottles in vending machines located throughout Macao for credit. Finally, the company is conducting trials of water dispensers with reusable glass bottles in 10 restaurants at The Londoner Macao.

Reducing Plastic Use in Kitchens and Food Service

Last year, Marina Bay Sands began eliminating plastic cling wrap in its kitchens, which use an average of 19,000 rolls annually. To start the process, the resort identified the top 10 uses for wrap, which included food preparation, transport trolley food covers, plated-food protection, and storage of dry goods, tableware and food. Eliminating these plastic wrap applications requires new processes and solutions, as well as behavior change. Initial efforts have included engaging with food and beverage leaders to develop alternative practices.

Marina Bay Sands also is piloting the use of ecoTOTEs for dissemination of spirits in bars and restaurants. Liquor supplies are delivered in ecoTOTEs, which are then used for dispensing and returned to distributors for refilling and redelivery.

Addressing Plastics in Laundry Service

Laundry service is another area in which plastics and single-use disposables have played prominent roles, and both Marina Bay Sands and Sands China are committed to removing these hard-to-eliminate items from their laundry operations.

Marina Bay Sands has circumvented using single-use plastic covers for laundry items by providing Team Members with reusable laundry bags for uniform washes, which is projected to eliminate more than 13,000 single-use plastic bags annually.

Sands China worked with on-site laundry suppliers to establish processes for reusing laundry hangers, which has resulted in 74% of hangers being recycled each month. The company also stopped using small plastic clips to hold garments on hangers in most cases and has established recycling processes for applications that still require clips. Finally, Sands China prevented more than 4,000 used laundry baskets from going to landfills by distributing them to local organizations and Sands Shopping Carnival attendees.

“We take a holistic approach to reducing plastic waste in all areas of our business and continually look for new ways to address the reliance on plastics our society has developed,” Tesarova said. “We are in sync with the goals of Plastic Free July and committed to advancing its ideals.”

Sands’ work to reduce reliance on plastics is guided by the Sands ECO360 global sustainability program. To learn more about the company’s environmental priorities and performance, read the latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/.