6 500

The number of hotels and resorts worldwide that will officially dispense with single-use plastic straws and drink stirrers by the end of 2019. Major hotel chain Marriott International — with 30 different brands around the world — has announced the plan in a move towards sustainability.

Plastic straws are too lightweight to be easily recycled, and many wind up in the ocean. The push to ban them gained traction after a viral video in 2015 showed rescuers removing a straw from a sea turtle’s nose.

Marriott’s president and CEO Arne Sorenson said: “We are committed to operating responsibly and – with over a million guests staying with us every night – we think this is a powerful step forward to reducing our reliance on plastics.”

Annually, the move could remove more than a billion plastic straws and 250 million plastic stirrers from circulation.

The year-long timeframe will allow for the group’s hotels to deplete their existing supplies and identify alternatives.