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Waste Management

From the guestroom to the loading dock, waste is a perpetual challenge for hoteliers. Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce waste—through intelligent purchasing, packaging, recycling and education. Got a great idea about how to turn green into gold? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Waste Management

Home Waste Management
From the guestroom to the loading dock, waste is a perpetual challenge for hoteliers. Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce waste—through intelligent purchasing, packaging, recycling and education. Got a great idea about how to turn green into gold? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Top Hospitality Brands Unite With Whole World Water to Address Global Water Crisis

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—WHOLE WORLD Water, a new social enterprise set to launch on World Water Day, March 22, 2013, announced today its sustainable business model that partners with the hospitality and tourism industry to collectively address one of the world’s most pressing issues—access to safe and clean water.Leveraging the potential of the hospitality and tourism industry to spur global change, the model encourages spas, hotels, resorts and restaurants to filter, bottle and sell their own water, and contribute 10 percent of the proceeds to the WHOLE WORLD Water Fund; a fund benefiting clean and safe water programs around the world....

Best Western Plus Kelowna Wing Earns LEED Silver

KELOWNA, B.C.—The Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites continues to charge forward with environmentally responsible initiatives. Not only has the hotel installed an electric vehicle charging station, they have just received LEED Silver Certification for their new environmental wing through the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a third-party certification program that rates buildings to the highest environmental performance standards in Canada. “This was quite the process,” says Brenda Rayburn, director of sales and marketing for the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites. “However, for me, the length of time...

GLN Adds Focused Sustainability Consulting as Directory Partner

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Focused Sustainability Consulting Group, LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Focused Sustainability Consulting Group offers the Big Hanna brand of in-vessel composters. By composting on-site with a Big Hanna Composter, one can reduce one’s carbon footprint while closing the loop on organic waste. On-site in-vessel composting eliminates the need for transport to landfill, and eliminates methane gas released when organic matter decomposes in landfills. Composter users get about 10 percent back in the form of finished/mature ready to use compost—not a digestate that needs...

Coastal Forest is Comfortable, Quiet Home for Eco-luxurious WildSpring Guest Habitat

PORT ORFORD, ORE.—“It feels like you are on another planet.” That is how Michelle Duarte describes the WildSpring Guest Habitat that she and her husband own along the coast of Oregon in Port Orford. Their small, eco-friendly resort sits on five acres of 100-foot trees and includes five cabins. “The cabins are built like small homes,” Duarte says. “They are not rustic.”Just about everything possible was done to minimize the environmental footprint of the five cabin suites. Duarte’s husband, Dean, who once worked on Hollywood sets in construction, played an integral part in the building of the cabins. Only...

EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge Gains Momentum

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Interest in the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, part of its Sustainable Materials Management Program, is picking up with the addition of participants including hotels, resorts, convention centers, entertainment venues, and other facilities. Organizations joining the program must commit to at least a 5 percent increase in at least one of the three food diversion categories: prevention, donation or composting. Or alternatively, they can commit to a combined 5 percent increase across all three food waste diversion categories. If a participant does not have food diversion data, the EPA says it will assist the organization in developing a program...

Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa Participates in ‘Dive Against Debris’

PHUKET, THAILAND—Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa teamed up with its affiliate dive center Sub Aqua Dive Center, as a boat sponsor of Go Eco Phuket’s “Dive Against Debris” as part of the resort’s commitment to protecting, conserving, and restoring Phuket’s natural environment.“Dive Against Debris”, the world’s largest reef cleanup, was organized by Go Eco Phuket (the dive centers of Phuket united as one) with the support of PADI and Project Aware. Held this fall, the event involved 502 participants, more than 300 of which were divers, 20 local dive centers, 14 dive boats, the Royal Thai Navy, the...

Four Seasons Austin Aims to Elevate Waste Diversion Rate

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Trash and luxury travel are topics rarely uttered in the same sentence, but the two have been linked as the Four Seasons Hotel Austin undertakes one of the most ambitious waste diversion initiatives in the country—by a hotel or otherwise. On November 30, the hotel launched its new Zero Waste program, a goal two years in the planning.“The amount of passion and dedication that’s already gone into developing this initiative is inspiring,” says general manager Rob Hagelberg. “I’m so proud to be part of a team that’s truly breaking new environmental ground in the state of Texas and...

The Founders Inn and Spa Ladles Out Fragments Program

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.—Approximately 3.3 million tons of food waste from hotels, restaurants and bars goes into landfill sites every year. Yet, 4 percent of U.S. households experience chronic hunger. This month, The Founders Inn and Spa, in partnership with Operation Blessing, will follow the Capella Hotel Group Fragments program standards, to make soup for New Life Christian Center, East Ocean View to distribute. Capella Hotel Group manages The Founders Inn and Spa.Each week kitchen staff saves all unused food from the restaurant and catered events that would normally be discarded. Generally this consists of soup, proteins, starches, and vegetables....

Refinishing Touch Completes Project at Hampton Inn Batesville

ALPHARETTA, GA.—Hampton Inn Batesville, located in Southeast Indiana and part of the Hampton brand, has completed a large-scale sustainability project through The Refinishing Touch’s furniture asset management solutions. The Refinishing Touch completed on-site furniture refinishing to case goods in 66 rooms at the Batesville location, restoring the original condition of wardrobes, desks, nightstands, headboards, bathroom vanities and luggage benches.The refinishing project was completed using non-toxic lacquers with low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), maintaining indoor air quality and ensuring safety. Hampton Inn Batesville saved 92.5 percent in budget costs by refinishing, when compared to buying new furniture—reducing the project’s total...

GreenWaste Recovery Starts Carpet Recycling Company

SAN JOSE, CALIF.—GreenWaste Recovery and its sister company Zanker Road Resource Management specialize in transforming society’s discards back into valuable resources to make new products. GreenWaste’s material recovery facility in San Jose, Calif., is known for its ability to separate and process recyclable materials, garbage, food waste and construction and demolition debris with high recycling rates. They are now pleased to announce the newest member of the GreenWaste family of companies, GreenWaste Carpet Recycling.Launched in 2012, GreenWaste Carpet Recycling has quickly developed ties with many local carpet vendors and established four carpet collection centers in Northern California, including three...