Filenews 2 April 2021
Six partners in Cyprus, Malta and Greece are joined through the SUPMed project to reduce the consumption, disposal and impact of the use of single-use plastics (SUPs) in the tourism sector.
In a statement, the Cyprus Association of Hoteliers (PASYXE) says that in July 2020, it launched the project entitled "Reducing the consumption and disposal of disposable plastics in the tourism industry in Cyprus, Greece and Malta", also known as "SUPMed", noting that the project lasts until June 2023, with a total budget of 1,279,405.00 euros.
The six project partners involved in the project are Asfon Consulting Ltd as lead partner (CY), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Heraklion (GR), Anelixis Development Consultants SA (GR), Cellock Ltd (CY), AIS Environment (MT) and the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (CY).
According to PASYXE, the project partners aim to reduce the consumption, disposal and impact of single-use plastics in the tourism sector in these three regions, in line with the EU Directive 2019/904 on reducing the impact of plastic products, while through this project, the partners will support coastal tourist facilities in Cyprus, Malta and Greece (Crete) through pilot applications to transition to sustainable business models with an efficient resource
These models, PASYXE says, will identify and replace the disposable plastics most used in each participating tourist accommodation, with more environmentally friendly, readily available and affordable alternatives.
In addition, it is added that pilot applications will be supported in phasing out and replacing single-use plastics through a dedicated free online decision support tool (DST) to be developed, while DST will present viable and available alternatives to the most used disposable plastics, taking into account the costs and environmental impact of each alternative during its life cycle.
Following the completion of pilot applications in each of the three regions, best practice guides will be developed presenting the findings of pilots, the impact of plastic waste on human health and the environment, how to reduce disposable plastics in tourism and other sectors and what environmentally friendly and affordable alternatives are available.
These guides will be spread to Micro-Medium Enterprises, Non-Profit Organisations, tourist institutions and other relevant stakeholders in the three regions and across Europe as an additional support tool to replace SUP.
The opening event of the project will take place online on Thursday, April 8, 2021.
Source: CYPE
