Committed to marine life

By: Mariel Monges

Read it in english here.

One of the favorite vacation destinations is the beach: enjoying the sand, the weather, but above all, the sea. But the beach should not only be a destination to relax and have fun; it is time to take care of it.

The oceans are so important that it is essential to keep them clean. Some of their most important functions are regulating the climate, feeding millions of people, being the main producers of oxygen, an invaluable source of biodiversity, and providing countless resources. They are the largest habitats on Earth, covering 71% of the planet's surface.

Almost a million species inhabit the planet's oceans, including fish, birds, crustaceans, mammals, mollusks, and reptiles.

Currently, the vast majority of these species, regardless of their region, have been trying to survive a great threat caused by humans: pollution.

Much of this pollution is focused on human waste and the irresponsibility of its disposal, which causes thousands of forms of plastic to end up in the sea. Unfortunately, it is estimated that more than five trillion pieces of plastic are currently floating on the sea's surface.(1) An article published in the journal Science Advances by industrial ecologist Roland Geyer, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, United States, calculated the total volume of all plastic produced. And the result was 8.3 billion tons. Of that number, some 6.3 billion tons are now waste, and 79% of it is in landfills or in the natural environment.

What does this cause?
Bags, caps, bottles, hoses; plastic comes in so many forms that for some species it is not so easy to distinguish it from their food, which causes the ingestion of this waste, ending in death. In other situations, species can become trapped without access to food or suffer physical harm.

The reality is that all of this can be prevented.

At Solaris Hotels in Mexico
we firmly believe that we can help preserve this beautiful paradise and the species that live in it. Since the beginning of turtle season, as it is a spawning and gestation destination, we fulfill our responsibility to care for and protect them until the moment they set out into life. Learn about part of our commitment in the article "Sea Turtle Season 2017"

But our commitment goes further, since their life cycle begins when they reach the sea, the sea we want to care for and preserve; so we comply with some initiatives that we are proud to share so you can join us:

We restrict the use of straws in our drinks: When you visit any of our 4 hotels, whether in Cancun or Los Cabos, every drink served will be without the use of straws, thus avoiding the mass consumption of these products. "Without a straw is fine" is the social movement of SEMARNAT, which is important to apply in all consumption centers we visit.

Beach cleanup: periodically and voluntarily, we organize cleanups on our beaches with the help of our collaborators.

Plastic bottle recycling: By producing our own drinking water, we bottle it and offer it to our guests. At the end of their usage cycle, these are collected for recycling to reduce solid waste.

Bottle cap bank: With a call to all our collaborators, we collect bottle caps (or any other beverage like milk or cleaning products) for recycling, which helps us fulfill another mission: By delivering them, they are recycled and treatments are provided to children with cancer. For more information: https://www.bancodetapitas.org

Mugs with a purpose: Thanks to the art of Diego Von - Pintando con Causa, from every mug we buy to give to our most loyal guests, a percentage is donated to organizations that help wildlife.

We welcome the 2018 Turtle Season!

If you want to know how we did in 2017, we invite you to read our article "End of the 2017 Turtle Season"

Read it in english here.

Solaris Hotels of Mexico
www.hotelessolaris.com

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