Playa Cares with Community Recycling Project

Playa Hotels & Resorts’ (PHR) Playa Cares sustainability platform  has been celebrating its success in carrying out community projects in Mexico over the past few years.

The Community Recycling Project in Mexico is one of Playa Cares favourite sustainability initiatives because it is a low cost, high Impact way to engage staff members, families, waste management collection partners and the local community. Working together, each person or company can play an active role in the management of waste that is generated in a specific destination - not just inside the hotel grounds, but in the surrounding communities.

The basis of the project is that each participant gathers recyclable materials from home or its community and delivers them to central collection points at PHR hotels. Items include plastic bottles and plastic bottle tops, paper, aluminium cans, cardboard and polystyrene. These materials are separated into clearly designated bags and boxes by hotel staff members and collected by the same recycling companies that collect the hotel’s recyclables. Through this initiative, a highly effective model was created that can be easily replicated, not only by other hotel companies, but also throughout the entire tourism industry and by any other organization or group of individuals seeking to create a local circular economy solution to a global challenge.

The simple yet impactful recycling approach is in operation inside PHR properties and more recently, has been introduced in Mexico Regional Offices. Since starting the community recycling initiative 3 years ago, Playa Cares has managed to divert 10,557 kg of residential recyclable waste from the landfills in destinations where recycling at a residential level is still a big challenge. This waste problem is apparent even in high-income residential areas, so it is hoped the recycling model will be embraced in the wider community.