Home News & Features Greener Alternatives to Vinyl, Leather Now Available for Menu Covers, Directory Binders

Greener Alternatives to Vinyl, Leather Now Available for Menu Covers, Directory Binders

1760
0
SHARE

NATIONAL REPORT—When building sustainability programs, many properties easily conquer the projects that are considered low hanging fruit—towel and linen reuse programs, low-flow fixtures, compact fluorescent lamps, etc. But when it comes to the smaller items that still have a negative environmental impact, sustainability is often forgotten. Two good examples are menus and guest services directories. Almost every restaurant utilizes menus with menu covers and has other table-top accessories to promote drink, dessert or other items. Almost every guestroom still includes a guest services directory. From the point of their creation to their disposal, each of these items can have a negative environmental impact.

Materials to consider when purchasing menu covers and directory binders include the hard material in the covers or binders, the inks or coatings used on the wrap or on the paper, the metal used as part of the binding process, and the paper used within the menu or directory.

Vinyl is often used as cover material. According to Ralph Salisbury, senior vice president, marketing for Impact Enterprises, most vinyl plastics have contaminants in them (see link for list of related articles). Leather can also contain harmful chromium (see related article). Once in a landfill, these materials can leach their toxins into ground water.

Wood, Metal Options Available

Impact Enterprises, as well as other companies, are currently offering greener alternatives to those materials typically used in menu covers and directories. Impact Enterprises, for example, offers covers made with Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified wood or recycled and recyclable metals such as copper, brass and aluminum. Covers are also available that are made from bonded or faux leather that include recycled and recyclable materials. Non-solvent based urethanes, aqueous coated fabrics, recycled poly, and eco-friendly vinyl are also offered by Impact Enterprises.

SpeedBinder, Inc., as well as Impact Enterprises, offer binders that incorporate chipboard that includes post-consumer content. In regard to inks or coatings, Impact Enterprises offers soy-based inks, aqueous instead of pyroxylin coatings, and can screen print directly onto chipboard. Because of recyclability, wire binding is preferable when compared with plastic coils.

Part of the sustainability story for menu covers, binders and related items is how well they are made. Sturdy covers and binders from wood or metal can last for years. In regard to the paper used, it is easy to find options with 100 percent recycled content.

Third Party Testing Important

When considering the purchase of items such as menu covers or binders, be sure to ask whether or not the products have been tested by a third party that specializes in determining the sustainability of a product. Although menu covers, directories and similar items may have just a small impact from a waste management perspective when compared to other items at a hotel, alternatives to disposal should certainly be considered—reuse, recycling, donation, etc.  

“It is up to the hotel to educate and monitor their employees,” Impact Enterprises’ Salisbury says.

Eventually, perhaps even menu covers and directories will be considered “low hanging fruit.”

Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

LEAVE A REPLY