SAN DIEGO — More hotels are turning the tide on plastic pollution, thanks to a new program that encourages them to become ocean friendly.

Anthony Gutierrez is the regional general manager for Casetta Hotels and is always looking for ways to minimize their footprint on the environment. He said The Pearl Hotel in San Diego recently got certified as an Ocean Friendly Hotel by the Surfrider Foundation. Their Ocean Friendly Hotels program aims to reduce plastic pollution and give people sustainable lodging choices. The Pearl is one of only two hotels in San Diego to hold the certification.

“An initiative that a lot of companies have, but we are at the forefront, we are the decision makers so easy for us to just say 'hey let’s do this right from the beginning,'” Gutierrez said.

Vicki Conlon is the Ocean Friendly Restaurant lead for Surfrider Foundation and she also does compliance checks for the Ocean Friendly Hotels program. She makes sure the hotels are following seven mandatory criteria, like no plastic water bottles, no Styrofoam and no mini plastic bottles of toiletries.

Conlon said Surfrider is aiming to add 100 hotels in the next five years to their program. Surfrider estimates that will eliminate more than 4 million plastic water bottles and more than 6 million mini toiletry bottles every year, preventing them from ending up in landfills or polluting the ocean.

"If businesses can kind of start that trend and that mindset, they can really impact a lot of people," Conlon said. "They can set a really nice example for their guests and maybe the guest will go home and say 'oh I don’t need those plastic cups at home I can use a reusable cup.'”

Conlon said The Pearl Hotel is also going above and beyond by doing things like installing drought tolerate plants with water friendly landscaping, using bamboo toilet paper, and having cloth hand towels in their bathrooms instead of paper towels.

They're both hoping the program can connect eco-conscious travelers to accommodations across the nation who have a shared goal of using less plastic.

“Us as a company, we have the ability to impact multiple people, whether or not they know they’re participating, but they are, and we all take pride in that we’re able to facilitate those efforts for people even outside of their own homes, and outside of our own homes, and have a bigger impact,” Gutierrez said.  

So far, there are 17 ocean friendly hotels across the country. You can find them by visiting the Ocean Friendly Hotels page at Surfrider.org.