Home Personnel Profile Sunny Pressler Helps Turn ‘Waste’ Into Revenue at The Broadmoor

Sunny Pressler Helps Turn ‘Waste’ Into Revenue at The Broadmoor

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Name: Sunny Pressler
Title: Recycling Coordinator
Organization: The Broadmoor
Years at Hotel: Almost five years
Primary responsibilities: “To get the company as much as I can through recycling, and recycle as much as I can.”
Hotel’s most significant waste-related accomplishment so far: “The volume of items that we recycle on an annual basis. We are earning between $30,000 to $40,000 a year from our recyclables.”   
Hotel’s most significant waste-related challenge: “The biggest obstacle we need to overcome is food waste.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.—As someone who loves the outdoors, Sunny Pressler is in her element as recycling coordinator for The Broadmoor in scenic Colorado Springs. She gets to spend from six to seven hours out of her eight hour day outdoors. The native Chicagoan, who has been in her current position for almost five years, makes sure what can be recycled is recycled at the 744-room, 3,000-acre resort.

Pressler spends her day making sure the back-of-house cages and totes are emptied and in their proper spots. They contain the metal, glass and plastic containers that are taken away for recycling. She also monitors the five loading docks where balers are used to pack cardboard.

The Broadmoor also recycles paper and yellow grease. Last year, 60,000 pounds of yellow grease was taken away for conversion into biodiesel fuel. While The Broadmoor gets paid for many of the recyclables that are taken away, it does not get paid for the grease (it does not have to pay to have it taken away). A local company picks up wine bottles and converts them into drinking glasses.

All Metals Recycled

“We recycle any metal object,” Pressler says, adding that the resort can make quite a bit when it has old equipment or appliances to recycle.

The Broadmoor is looking into food waste recycling/composting at the moment. Pressler says finding the space for it is a challenge.

Currently, there are no recycling containers in front-of-the-house areas—only in back-of-the-house locations. Pressler says the resort will occasionally get requests from groups for recycling containers to be present during meetings.

Pressler previously worked for a truck equipment company before being hired by The Broadmoor. “This job came along unexpectedly,” she says. “It is a challenge for me and I enjoy taking on challenges.”

The volume of waste at most lodging establishments does not warrant the hiring of a full-time recycling coordinator. The Broadmoor, however, has not only 744 rooms in multiple buildings but also a spa, restaurants, and three 18-hole golf courses.

Pressler says the recycling success at The Broadmoor is due to a team effort. “I have a lot of support behind me,” she says. An Evergreen Committee meets regularly to discuss ongoing projects and all employees at the resort are educated about recycling procedures.

Go to The Broadmoor.

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

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