You read about green hotels, eco friendly hotels, it’s all nice and good, but besides ‘organic food, non- toxic paint, what else do they do. I came across this article and thought it was very interesting.
Environmental Accommodation Providers of Auckland (EAPA)
if the links breaks (http://www.arc.govt.nz/environment/managing-pollution-and-waste/waste-and-recycling/environmental-accommodation-providers-of-auckland-eapa/waste-reduction.cfm)
Waste reduction
Case studies
- Sheraton Auckland Hotel & Towers: Recycling oil, glass and telephone directories.
- Waipuna International Hotel & Conference Centre: a) reducing packaging waste b) reusing resources.
Sheraton Auckland Hotel & Towers
The hotel
The Sheraton has 408 rooms with high occupancy rates as well as large numbers of visitors using the restaurants, conference rooms, gymnasium and other facilities. All these areas generate significant quantities of waste going to landfill and add to the hotel’s waste disposal costs.
Recycling major waste streams meant the Sheraton was immediately able to reduce their waste and in some cases, generate income for staff charities.
Initiative: Recycling
1. Glass
Bottles and jars collected from the kitchens and restaurants are sent for recycling. Approximately 1.3 tonnes of glass is collected each month from the hotel. Not only does this reduce pollution and the potential for dangerous accidents, it also conserves resources.
Savings
Annual saving from recycling the hotel’s glass are $1400. This includes $1,000 savings through reduced disposal costs and $400 income from the glass.
2. Cooking oil
Kitchen cooking oil is collected each month for refining. The refined oil is then exported for reuse as inedible oil products.
Savings
Over one year, recycling cooking oil saves the hotel $500 of which $360 is income and $140 is gained through reduced disposal costs.
3. Used telephone directories
Each year over 2.6 tonnes of telephone directories are used within the hotel. When the new directories are issued the old ones are collected for recycling.
Savings
The old telephone directories saves the hotel $210 a year through reduced disposal costs.
Benefits
- Reduced operational costs though lower disposal costs
- Reduced pollution costs through less waste being disposed to landfill
- Safer wok environment when glass is not mixed with general waste
- Less energy and resources are used to manufacture recycled products. In New Zealand an estimated 20% less energy is required to manufacture recycled glass compared with virgin glass. Recycling glass also reduces the extraction of silica sand from our beaches and reduces the quantity of soda ash imported into New Zealand.
Waipuna International Hotel & Conference Centre
The hotel
The Waipuna International Hotel and conference centre has 155 guest rooms and has been running at a high level of occupancy. In addition the hotel is one of the major conference facilities in Auckland and hosts an average of 1096 additional daily visitors.
Initiative A: Minimising packaging waste – hair care products
Number of shampoo and conditioner bottles used per month 3,500
And estimated 40% are taken away by guests, with the remainder being disposed of in the general waste of the hotel. In December, the hotel began a project to refill the bottles, which were disposed of by guests.
The refilling is carried out manually by a staff member in their own time for additional pay. Shampoo and conditioner is purchased in bulk containers and the bottles are cleaned and sterilised before being refilled to ensure hygiene concerns are addressed.
Savings
- In the first three months the following savings were made
- Unit costs to purchase shampoo or conditioner = $0.32 cents per bottle
- Number of shampoo and conditioner units consumed in December, January and February 1994/95 (i.e. prior to the refilling project but for the same period) = 10,552 units
- Number of conditioner and shampoo units consumed in December, January and February 1995/6 (i.e. during the refilling project) =6,145 units purchased and 3,840 refilled.
- Three-month cost to bulk purchase shampoo and conditioner bottles $270
- Three month cost to purchase additional shampoo and conditioner bottles to replace lost or damaged stock = $1966.40
- Total estimated three-month savings through refilling shampoo and conditioner bottles $737.25
This does not include
- Savings in waste disposal costs
- Costs for paying the staff member to refill the bottles
Benefits
- Reduced purchasing costs for the bathroom amenity products for the hotel.
- Reduced disposal costs.
- Reduced pollution as the waste shampoo and conditioner is being disposed of in the sewage system rather than landfill.
- Reduced consumption of raw materials to produce new containers.
- Additional income for staff member.
Initiative B: Reusing resources
Introduction
A machinist is employed at the Waipuna hotel has the task of repairing damaged and worn uniforms, sheets, tablecloths, and towels to enable their continued use within the hotel.
Examples:
- Reject pillowslips are used to recover pillows
- Mattress covers are turned into ironing board covers
- Reusing damaged goods in a similar form benefits the hotel, through reduced purchasing costs, reduced disposal costs and extends supply stocks.
Reuse Initiative – Fabric table cloths.
This initiative ensures that waste is minimised right from the start, as fabric materials are capable of being re-used as opposed to single use paper napkins. However even tablecloths get damaged and worn.
During 1995 approximately 240 tablecloths were damaged or became worn. Rather than disposing of the cloths or using them for cleaning rags, the hotel stored the cloths for producing napkins at a later date.
- 240 tablecloths produced 1,200 napkins
Savings
- Unit cost to purchase napkins $3.95 each
- Internal cost to produce each napkin (hotel machinist = $0.20 each)
- Number of napkins manufactured 1,200
- Total savings $4,500
- This does not include savings in waste disposal costs.
Benefits
- Reduced purchasing costs for napkins for the hotel
- Reduced disposal costs and pollution as the fabric is not disposed of to landfill
- Reduced consumption of raw materials to produce new napkins
- Extending the napkin supply within the hotel, which reduces the need for additional laundry loads to maintain sufficient napkin stocks in the restaurants.
There was no reduction in the quality of napkin used by guests.
Who deals with my waste?