Almost 4,000 tonnes of waste was been tackled as part of an Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)-backed Make Holidays Greener summer sustainability push. Food and plastic were among the 3,834 tonnes of waste reduced, reused, recycled or removed from the environment as part of the ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ campaign.

This is the equivalent weight of the number of plastic bottles needed to stretch more than three quarters of the way around the earth, if laid end to end, according to organisers. A total of 120 ABTA members and travel businesses, from tour operators to hotels, participated in the campaign – up from 75 last year.

Projects included reducing food waste in hotels, a holiday clothes swap and providing people with water bottles that filter as they re-fill to avoid using single use plastic bottles. More than 6,500 industry staff and holidaymakers participated, nearly three times the number who supported last year with many taking part in 119 clean-up activities worldwide.

Almost 1,400 holidaymakers made sustainable holiday pledges, up 8% on last year, with 31% choosing to reduce, reuse and recycle.

The annual campaign was launched by ABTA and Travelife for Accommodation in June to encourage holidaymakers and the industry to create better places to live in and visit.

Nikki White, destinations and sustainability director in ABTA said: “This year more ABTA members, travel businesses and customers have taken part in Make Holidays Greener than ever before and it’s fantastic to see the range of initiatives that have taken place over the past 12 months. The industry continues to make great strides in reducing the amount of waste it produces.”