DOVER, DEL.—When the two-day Sustain 2016 green lodging conference kicks off on March 14, it will be held at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, a venue with a long list of green initiatives. The 80-acre property, which features a 500-room hotel, casino, horse racing, entertainment, and multiple restaurants, is a Delaware Green Lodging Program participant and dedicated to reducing waste, improving energy and water efficiency, and supporting local farmers.According to Ed Sutor, President of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, the reasons for pursuing sustainability have been many but one reason has certainly been to keep costs under control. Dover...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced plans to source 100 percent of its eggs from cage-free chickens across its supply chain by 2020. “Animal welfare is important to our customers and our company, and many of our hotels around the world already use cage-free eggs,” said Andrea Pinabell, Starwood’s Vice President of Sustainability. “By transitioning to 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2020, we further our commitment to doing the right thing. Our commitment also involves our suppliers and we call on them to make this important change as well. We’re excited about our commitment and look forward to helping...

I have written or posted articles about food waste frequently over the years—articles focused on everything from food waste prevention to decomposition machines to a food waste disposal ban in Massachusetts. Nine years ago I wrote an article that briefly addressed food waste disposers. A lot can change in nine years and that is why I just posted an updated article on disposers and disposer systems based on my own research as well as conversations with leaders representing our industry’s two leading disposer brands—Salvajor and InSinkErator. Both of these companies, and others, are making it easier to reduce food...

NATIONAL REPORT—According to Emerson Electric Co., owner of the InSinkErator brand of food waste disposers, each year in the United States, nearly 34 million tons of food waste is trucked to landfills. Once there, it quickly decomposes and produces methane, an environmentally harmful greenhouse gas at least 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. While open air composting facilities and on-site waste decomposition machines are ways to manage food waste, kitchen food waste disposers and related systems remain a viable, convenient way to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill. These systems also quickly reduce costs related to...

TRENTON, N.J.—Boasting an improved capsule designed specifically for use in business and hospitality settings, SolaBev is the latest technology introduced to the single-serve beverage market. In addition to the ability to address the higher-volume needs of commercial enterprises, the company announced its partnership with TerraCycle to provide a recycling solution for its capsules.According to a 2014 National Coffee Assn. report, the use of single-serve brewing systems continues to rise, due to their convenience and efficiency. For offices and hotel lobbies especially, single-serve machines eliminate any instances of leftover, unused coffee. With the additional option to recycle the SolaCap capsules...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Intelligent Blends as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Intelligent Blends is a co packer, manufacturer and solutions provider for the rapidly growing single-serve beverage market. The company’s products—coffee, iced and hot tea, hot chocolate, and ciders—are packed and sealed in recyclable pods. The recyclable pods are comprised of an advanced proprietary blend of #5 Recyclable Polypropylene along with other eco-friendly materials, producing a capsule with a moisture/oxygen barrier that is up to 10 times less permeable than typical Polystyrene cups. Intelligent Blends has packed millions...

VERNON HILLS, ILL.—Scotsman Ice Systems’ Meridian HID525 ice and water dispenser has received a 2015 GOOD DESIGN award,  the world’s most prestigious, recognized and oldest Design Awards program organized by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. Designed with space, production and installation in mind, the Meridian unit offers premium reliability, time-saving serviceability and convenient cleaning innovations.“Launched earlier this year, the Meridian product line incorporates the latest in ice- and water-dispensing technology in the smallest available operational footprint relative to capacity,” said Jeff Biel, Director of Product Development for Scotsman. “The Meridian unit emphasizes our commitment to pairing...

ISLANDS OF LORETO, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO—When the Danzante Golf Course opens at the Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto on February 14, it will operate with the least amount of environmental impact possible. The 7,400-yard Rees Jones-designed course on the Islands of Loreto, Baja California Sur in Mexico, was designed to work with the natural beauty and serenity of its surrounding environment. Where possible, plants that were removed during the construction of the course were transplanted and relocated throughout the golf course to maintain native landscaping. Those plants that were unable to be transplanted were used...

BOULDER, COLO.—Eco-Products has earned an innovation award for its new compostable plates that solve a predicament for party-goers: how to hold food and drink while shaking hands and greeting other guests.Eco-Products’ Gala Cocktail Plates feature a patented finger grip that allows guests to hold their food and drink in one hand while simultaneously being able to eat and greet with the other. Made from sugarcane, the plates are 100 percent renewable and certified as compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).The plates earned Eco-Products the Innovation in Convenience Award from the Foodservice Packaging Institute and QSR magazine. Simple & Effective “The...

KEY WEST, FLA.—Waste Management and Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, teamed up to make the Seventh Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit a successful, first-ever Zero Waste Event in Florida.At the Summit held in Key West which concluded December 3, Waste Management and hotel personnel worked together to recycle 90.3 percent (1,713 pounds) of all waste generated by the more than 400 attendees at the summit. The remaining 9.7 percent of waste was processed at a waste-to-energy facility and produced renewable energy in the form of electricity.Traditional recyclables (431 pounds)—including cardboard, paper, and plastic items and aluminum...