Sustainability

Here at Kinlay Hostel we recognize that tourism leaves behind a carbon footprint – our goal is to reduce our footprint as much as possible. Through environmentally-friendly initiatives, sustainable practices, and community involvement we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment.

We are a member of Sustainable Tourism Network. They are Ireland’s leading and longest-running body for the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism.

You can view our sustainability policy here.

Changes we have made during our renovations in 2023.

  1. Sustainability Kinlay Updated all of our lights in the building are LED lights – reducing our electricity usage by 14%
  2. Brand new water refill station. Since its installation in January 2020 our counter shows we have saved over 185,000 plastic bottles.
  3. Our breakfast is free of single use plastic items.
  4. All our shower heads have been upgraded to aerated shower heads. These shower heads work by restricting the volume of water that they allow to flow through them. We have reduced our water usage by 25% in the past year.
  5. Removed all take away compostable cups and only provide resuable ceramic cups.
  6. We send back our toner cartridges for recycling or repurposing to prevent them from ending up in landfill. By doing this we are helping reduce the environmental impact of e-waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and contributing to a more sustainable, circular economy.
  7. At our hostel, we encourage guests to travel by public transport because it’s a more eco-friendly way to explore. It helps reduce traffic congestion, lowers carbon emissions, and allows them to experience the local culture more authentically. Plus, it’s often a more affordable and stress-free way to get around, so they can focus on enjoying their trip!
  8. We switched to a 100% Green energy electricity supplier.

Other changes we have made:

We have reusable water bottles available for our guests to purchase for a small fee. Reusable water bottles are better for the environment and cheaper in the long run than continuously buying bottled water again and again. After all, water out of the refill station is free!

We encourage our guests to think about their water consumption with stickers in each bathroom!

We bake our very own Irish Soda Bread in house. Saving on shipping, creating extra employment and saving on packaging!

We introduced a ‘Think Before You Bin’ it campaign.

Kinlay Green TeamWe introduced a Green Team. All departments in the hostel are involved in creating ideas and implementing sustainability practices.

Our team do regular beach clean ups.

During the year we run several fitness challenges for staff. They need to log a certain amount of walks, runs or cycles each month. We have noticed that this encourages staff to walk or cycle to work more cutting down on their use of cars and public transport.

We now have a state of the art Keyless Mobile Check – in system! Cutting down significantly on the use of plastic keycards and paper security passes!

We are a member of Ireland’s Sustainable Tourism Network