Greenbank Hotel teams up with local potter in plastic-free pledge
The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth have teamed up with local potter Natalie Bonney to kick-start their plan to be the first plastic-free hotel in Cornwall.
The hotel perched on Falmouth’s harbour have come up with an innovative way to minimise waste. They’ve teamed up with Penryn potter Natalie Bonney, and Helston-based luxury beauty brand Living Sea Therapy to eliminate all plastic toiletry bottles in their 61 rooms.
Reducing waste and supporting the environment is something that The Greenbank and Managing Director Ben Young are passionate about. Ben said:
“At The Greenbank we believe we have an obligation to seek out the most sustainable business practices to support our climate, the local economy and our Cornish community.”
“We also believe that deeds speak louder than words, so with levels of business at an all-time high we have found that the amount of little plastic toiletries bottles that we were getting through was increasingly unbearable.”
Local pottery from Natalie Bonney
Natalie Bonney, the creator of the hotel’s gorgeous new ceramic pots claims this has been one of her most challenging projects to date:
“The precision involved to make all the bottles fit a screw threaded pump top and a wall bracket whilst being functional and visually attractive was a challenge. I was determined to make something that ticked all the boxes and I've definitely learnt some new skills. Thankfully the hotel team are lovely and very patient.”
“As we all know we must take more responsibility for what we use on a daily basis so the less plastic that's used in the first place the less we have to worry about it polluting our environment especially here in beautiful Cornwall.”
What’s been achieved so far
The Greenbank sees their latest venture as a step in the right direction, as the new ceramic bottles will save throwing away tens of thousands of single-use plastic bottles a year. This follows on from their refillable glass water bottles that replaced plastic earlier in 2019, as well as the elimination of plastic straws and pens.
Ben Young continues: “When we discussed going plastic-free with our previous suppliers, alarmingly the only solution they could come up with was larger disposable single use plastic bottles. We see this as a true issue in the hotel sector and we were determined to do our bit to make a positive change for the better, hoping others may follow our lead.”
The Greenbank are proud to be the pioneers for plastic-free initiatives in the hotel industry, and hope their ideas to eradicate single-use plastic may inspire other businesses who could make similar changes, from Cornwall and the south west to further afield.
At The Greenbank we believe we have an obligation to seek out the most sustainable business practices to support our climate, the local economy and our Cornish community.
