The tourism sector has been highlighted as a significant source of environmental burdens, as it is responsible for around 12 % of the global carbon footprint (Arora, 2021). These environmental impacts are partially brought on by the use and waste disposal of single-use plastics products by visiting tourists, as many of the frequently polluting single-use plastics such as disposable toiletries or food packaging are sourced from tourism activities. In certain European coastal communities heavily dependent on tourism, visitors can cause up to a 40 % surge in marine litter, which is almost entirely comprised of plastic (Alessi and Di Carlo, 2018). The plastic footprint of tourism and consequent management of waste plastic therefore requires addressing as the tourism sector aims to transition towards a zero-waste future. This paper reviews plastic waste management strategies in the case studies of France, Italy, and the UK, which all represent countries with a high volume of annual tourist stays. The study takes into account the fluctuating plastic waste generated by tourism across different seasons in the three countries. In this way, the current state of the transition towards zero-waste tourism and the countries’ handling of tourism-related plastic waste is quantified. Results show the benefits of plastic waste management strategies particularly in Italy and the UK, where focus is on circular avenues of polymer recycling and incineration for recovery of heat and electricity. These strategies are determined to be key ways of unburdening the environment by reducing the demand for virgin polymer production as well as for production of heat and electricity. Therefore, waste management strategies in Italy and the UK, where around 45 % of plastic packaging waste is already recycled, present a promising outlook regarding tourism and plastic waste.
