A decade ago, the Houston Zoo began a journey to phase out single-use plastics from its culinary and retail operations in order to protect aquatic ecosystems and to inspire guests to reduce single-use plastics to save wildlife.
Since then, the Houston Zoo has collaborated with its culinary and retail partner, SSA Group, to eliminate plastic bottles, straws, and lids in food service areas, as well as single-use plastic bags and packaging in Zoo stores, becoming the first Zoo in the United States to have done so.
These efforts have reduced an estimated 80,000 bags, 300,000 bottles, and 23,000 straws per year, inspiring action and setting a blueprint for peer institutions and the broader Houston community to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics.
These innovative public-facing efforts dovetail with the Zoo's internal challenge to staff to change their at-work and personal behaviours around single-use plastics each year through a zoo-wide Plastic-Free July event, which also helped inspire city of Houston leadership to launch a 100-day challenge to reduce plastic use.
In addition to living out the values of environmental stewardship in its operations, the Houston Zoo communicates the importance of wildlife-saving actions to guests through its exhibits. Single-use plastics reduction is a major theme of the Zoo's Galápagos Islands exhibit, which opened in 2023 and was awarded Top Honours for Exhibit Design from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2024.
The exhibit communicates to guests that we share an ocean with the Galápagos Islands, and that guests can do their part at home to ensure healthier oceans for the Galápagos Islands and the rest of the world by eliminating single-use plastics. The Houston Zoo's efforts related to single-use plastic reduction complement broader sustainability goals, codified in a comprehensive Sustainability Action Plan, that aim to tackle the climate crisis and shrink the Zoo's overall environmental footprint.
The Plan includes goals related to carbon neutrality, water use reduction, reduced waste sent to landfills, sustainable procurement, and staff education and empowerment around sustainability topics. The Houston Zoo's comprehensive sustainability efforts and innovation related to single-use plastics reduction earned them a Top Honours for Sustainability Program award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2024.
Partners
- SSA Group
