After posting my recent article on water that is available in boxed cartons, I heard from Nicole Doucet, the co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based Open Water, a bottled water company that uses aluminum packaging as a more sustainable alternative to plastic bottled water. Nicole sent me a document that explains more about the bottled water her company sells. First, according to Open Water, the upside to aluminum is that it can be recycled over and over without losing volume or quality. Aluminum gets recycled more than cartons and other recyclables. Plastic...

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA.—Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort announced the dates for its sixth annual “Fish to Fork” culinary weekend, May 9 to 12, 2019. This year’s event celebrates Mother's Day weekend with an all-female chef lineup. The resort will welcome visitors for a one of a kind “dock-to-dish” experience where they can unleash their inner foodie. In its sixth year, Fish to Fork welcomes a new lineup of all-star female chefs. Each chef will bring their unique styles to the event’s festivities, and three-time Fish to Fork competitor Kathleen Blake, owner and chef of The Rusty Spoon in Orlando, Fla., is making...

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS—During the past two years an enthusiastic team of teachers and students have saved almost 40,000 kilos of food, which has been turned into delicious dishes and products. Recently, this team organized a Food Rescue Market to make the new students aware of food waste and to introduce them to the way Hotelschool encounters this. Ten different food rescue companies participated in the market, giving students the opportunity to taste dishes made of rescued food. Special guest at this market was a buck named Walter. Male goats are usually...

BOCA RATON, FLA.—FarFromBoring Hospitality continues to make headlines, eliminating the need for plastic straws by recently signing on to provide discerning clientele at three nationally recognized establishments with a high-quality, paper straw alternative. With eco-friendly, strong and reasonably-priced Rhino Paper Straws that are unique in color and design, the Boca Raton company is meeting the demand for local product availability while making a global difference. Three hospitality companies will now use Rhino Paper Straws to help reduce the more than 500 million plastic straws that Americans use every day, which pollute our oceans and are ingested by sea birds, turtles and other marine life. The...

They may not be the perfect solution to water container pollution but paper-based products—whether in cartons or bottles—are so much better than their plastic alternatives. This past week I posted an article about four companies that now offer water in cartons or bottles that are primarily made from paper—a renewable resource. If you are currently still giving your guests or staff plastic water bottles, I challenge you to sample the water containers featured in my article. Something has got to be done to stop the proliferation of plastic bottles. Sixty-nine billion bottles are created each year and 38 billion of...

ORLANDO, FLA.—SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment announced that all 12 of its theme parks have removed polystyrene foam dinnerware products, including bowls, plates and trays, from all its dining operations. As part of its commitment to protecting animals and habitats worldwide, SeaWorld has replaced polystyrene foam with products made from 100 percent recycled material in all its parks. With millions of meals served in the parks each year, the removal of polystyrene foam products, which are not biodegradable, helps keep them out of local landfills, as well as in the ocean ecosystem. According to Andrew Ngo, Corporate Vice President, In-park Revenue, “This change allows us to...

ORTING, WASH.—The Baxter VersaOven, the latest innovation in cooking equipment, combines the best features of steamer, rotisserie, convection and combi ovens into one space-saving design, resulting in recognition by the National Restaurant Association Show with a Kitchen Innovation Award. The Baxter BV400G is one of 25 products selected in 2019 as part of the NRA Show’s 15th annual Kitchen Innovation Awards. Designed to provide kitchens with a new level of versatility, the VersaOven is a self-cleaning, programmable gas rack oven that offers convection and non-boiler steam to serve as a steamer, rotisserie, convection oven, and combi oven all in one. “Since...

AquaRecycle Take a Big Bite Out of Laundry Water & Sewer Costs! AquaRecycle manufactures systems that recycle 100 percent of laundry wastewater. That water is then reused within the laundry. AquaRecycle’s proven technology provides customers with 80 percent water and sewer savings and 50 percent energy savings. Our “Green Technology” can qualify your facility for LEED points. Payback of two years or less! Call (866) 272-9253. AquaRecycle » Email for Details »

BANGKOK—Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is focusing on three key sustainability initiatives as part of the company’s recently announced 2019 Sustainability Plan: eliminating single-use plastic products; reducing its food waste footprint; and expanding its support of local farming and produce-growing communities. No Single-Use Plastic Products by End-2019 The elimination of single-use plastic items is part of the “Centara Earth Care” program aimed at encouraging hotel guests and tourists to be proactive about energy saving, waste reduction and sustainable environmental tourism. The sustainability plan covers five types of single-use plastic items, including drinking straws, laundry bags, take-away food containers,...

BOCA RATON, FLA.—FarFromBoring Hospitality continues to make headlines, eliminating the need for plastic straws by recently signing on to provide clientele at three nationally recognized establishments with a high-quality, paper straw alternative. With Rhino Paper Straws that are unique in color and design, the Boca Raton company is meeting the demand for local product availability while making a global difference. Three hospitality companies will now use Rhino Paper Straws to help reduce the more than 500 million plastic straws that Americans use every day, which pollute our oceans and are ingested by sea birds, turtles and other marine life. The premier luxury restaurant-and-theater brand, iPic...