Chic, fun, beautiful and eco-friendly – the elements that capture the essence of Noosa – is how one business owner has described Tourism Noosa’s latest plastic-free alternative, the bespoke recycled aluminium water bottle.
Through its Plastic Free Noosa Program Tourism Noosa have created a solution to single-use plastic water bottles in this week launching their new water bottle strategy in a bid to reduce the estimated 2-3 million plastic water bottles sold each year in the region.
The Australian first regional initiative has already been adopted by a range of restaurants, resorts and hostels, fitness operators and stores.Tourism Noosa’s Head of Sustainability manager Juanita Bloomfield-Terry said the product highlighted Noosa’s commitment to reducing single-use plastic.
“Places where people want to visit and live and that are sustainable don’t happen by chance, they are a product of visionary thinking and smart planning,” she said.
Plastic Free Noosa program manager Anita Butler said they were thrilled to see the positive response from local businesses which had already pre-ordered both the still and sparkling Noosa bottled water produced by Bluesky Beverages.
“So far we have already signed up 22 businesses and already eliminated over 1,344 single-use plastic water bottles” she said.
Accor area general manager Fabrice Grau said the Noosa aluminium bottle water had been a huge success at their Peppers Noosa Resort & Villas. “Our guests, conference delegates and staff members love them as it represents what Noosa is about – chic, fun, beautiful and eco-friendly,“ he said.
The Noosa aluminium water bottles are made from 65 per cent recycled aluminium and can be recycled indefinitely. In Australia 70 per cent of aluminium water bottles are recycled compared to only 21 per cent of plastic which can only be recycled 1-2 times and aluminium uses 11 per cent less energy to chill than plastic and 32 per cent less energy than glass.
Noosa operators who have made the switch to aluminium include Noosa Heads SLSC, View Restaurant, Providore on Hastings, Bombetta, Noosa Harbour Fish Market, Our Backyard (Sunshine Butterflies), KB’s Noosa, Old Salt Coffee, Wild Woman Adventure Race, Ecotekk, Pegasus fitness, Noosa Parks Association information centre, Seasons IGA and resorts – Peppers, Netanya, Sofitel, RACV and Nomads.
Businesses interested in switching to aluminium can contact Anita Butler at anita@tourismnoosa.com.au
For information about the Plastic Free Noosa visit www.plasticfreenoosa.org
