Win a spectacular September sun holiday to celebrate 2015's Make Holidays Greener campaign

Images of Thassos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ijvbewo3opdxe2r/AAB7EZ-InuficQaeF6DlHPzSa?dl=0

Sustainability charity the Travel Foundation and the hotel and accommodation accreditation scheme Travelife are marking the completion of the 2015 Make Holidays Greener campaign, which saw over 1,000 travel staff and their customers come together to clean 106 beaches worldwide, with a photographic competition to celebrate and cherish beaches we love to visit.

To be in with a chance of winning a sunny September holiday to Thassos courtesy of Sunvil Holidays, just post a photo of your favourite beach by noon on 28 August on the Travelife Facebook page with the hashtag #greenerhols and tell us where the beach is and why it deserves to be kept pristine*.

This year's campaign has had a particular focus on keeping plastic waste off beaches as it is estimated that there is 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans from cigarette ends, shopping bags, to crisp packets and bottles. Not only is the waste unsightly and causes damage to marine life, but as plastic does not biodegrade but just breaks down into tiny plastic microparticles, it is stealthily entering our own food chain.

The Make Holidays Greener campaign has five top holiday tips: 

-       Take reusable bags and bottles with you

-       Avoid unnecessary plastic straws

-       Use an ashtray on the beach and don't drop cigarette butts

-       Remove packaging and recycle at home before you travel.

-       Avoid bathroom products that contain microplastic particles

So far this year's campaign, which harnessed the support of 31 Travelife hotels and major tour operators such as Kuoni and TUI, has collected 33,708 pieces of litter, which has contributed, to 3,000 kg of rubbish in 766 rubbish bags.

After each beach clean, the amount of litter was counted up, with details send to Ocean Conservancy an international co-ordinator of beach cleans with operates a global database on marine debris to help create a better undersanding of the problem and provide potential solutions.

Sarah Kollar, a co-ordinator at Ocean Conservancy said: "By collecting, counting and tallying debris, it becomes apparent that ocean trash – no matter where it comes from – is not an ocean problem, but rather a people problem. The most common items collected during cleanups are those that we use every day. Single-use disposable items, often plastics, are collected by the thousands."

For tourism, the plastic issue is particularly acute: tourists typically generate more waste than locals, and in many popular destinations recycling facilities are patchy to say the least.

In addition, if you quote "GREENERHOLS" online at http://www.watertogo.eu/ you can obtain a 20% discount code for Water To Go refillable water filter bottles that cut down on the amount of plastic bottles being bought. Every time the code is used, the Travel Foundation will also receive a donation. Find out more top tips, facts and stats on the makeholidaysgreener.org.uk website.

*Full details and Terms & Conditions for the competition can be found on the Travelife website http://travelifecollection.com/competition

ENDS

10 August 2015

For more information contact: Frances Tuke, frances@tukepr.com 07415 136001; Emma Lewis, Travelife elewis@travelife.orgm 44(0)20 3693 0164; Ben Lynam, Travel Foundation ben.lynam@thetravelfoundation.org.uk 44(0)117 927 3049.

About Travelife

Travelife is an international certification system, promoting sustainability within the tourism industry. It helps tour operators, hotels and accommodations to manage and monitor their social and environmental impacts, as well as communicate their achievements to customers. It is an easy to use, step-by-step programme which provides members with a practical approach to improve their business.www.travelife.org and www.travelifecollection.com

About the Travel Foundation

The Travel Foundation is an independent charity that works with the travel and tourism industry towards a sustainable future, both for the industry and holiday destinations.  The Foundation enables travel companies to protect the environment and create opportunities for local people in tourism destinations. thetravelfoundation.org.uk