Friday 22, 2011 is Earth Day and like Cancun it is celebrating its 41st anniversary. To mark this important day in the global conservation calendar and reiterate its commitment to the environment, Royal Resorts would like to share some tips on how you can Green your Vacation.
Help us protect the planet and keep the Mexican Caribbean beautiful.
• Help us keep our beautiful white beaches clean by taking all your garbage with you when you leave. Don’t stub cigarettes out in the sand and remember that ring pulls, plastic beer packaging and cellophane bags are harmful to birds, mammals and marine life, including sea turtles.
• Help Royal Resorts recycle trash. Use the specially labeled bins in your villa and around the resort.Don’t throw used batteries in the trash, use the battery bag in your villa, or put them in the bins at the entrance to the gift shops.
• Stop using plastic bags. When you go shopping don’t ask for one if you don’ t really need it, and better still, go green and purchase reusable cloth bags.
• Do you really need that straw? Cutting down on straws reduces litter on the beach.
• If you don’t want your bath towels to be changed every day, simply hang them up,
otherwise leave them in the bathtub.
• Turn off the lights, TV and kitchen appliances and help save water by making sure the faucets are closed when you leave your villa.
• Make sure that all the windows and doors are closed when the air-conditioning is on. The air-conditioning thermostat should be at 22ºC when you leave the villa.
• Always use environmentally friendly, biodegradable sunscreens, especially if you plan to go snorkeling and swimming. The chemicals and oils in standard sun products contaminate the water and are harmful to corals and other marine life. Herbal sun products made in Mayan communities are available in the area.
• Wearing a t-shirt while snorkeling also helps protect you from the sun’s rays.
• Keep your distance from the coral reefs when snorkeling and diving. The slightest brush or stirring up sand can cause damage that will take the reef hundreds of years to recover from.
• Do not remove shells or any other creature living or dead from coral reefs and the national marine parks of the Mexican Caribbean.
• Fishermen, please dispose of fishing lines, nets, hooks and lead weights correctly. Birds and other marine creatures become entangled in nets or swallow bait and fishing lines, dying a slow and agonizing death.
• Observe the “catch and release” policy for game fish such as marlin and sailfish.
• Keep the bugs away with herbal repellents, they are just as effective and much better for the environment.
• Respect area wildlife and marine creatures, admire them from a distance.
• Support sustainable development projects in the area, they benefit Mayan communities, rare wildlife and biosphere reserves.
• Never buy shells, corals, starfish or endangered species such as parrots, macaws, monkeys, wild cats and iguanas. Likewise, avoid products made with parts of rare animals and birds such as feathers, skins, bones, teeth and claws, or the shell and natural oils in the case of sea turtles.
• Purchase organic goods produced in the area such as honey, coffee, vanilla and chocolate and locally made tropical fruit preserves and chili sauces.
Dyos bo’otik
“Thank you” in Maya
