ORLANDO—Gaylord Hotels has deepened its commitment to sustainability by partnering with Clean the World to recycle soaps and bottled amenities at all four Gaylord properties in North America—Gaylord National (Washington, D.C.), Gaylord Opryland (Nashville), Gaylord Palms (Orlando), and Gaylord Texan (Dallas).Clean the World projects that the entire Gaylord Hotels portfolio, representing 8,050 hotel rooms, will collect nearly 447,000 soap bars (more than 84,000 pounds of soap) and 62,500 pounds of bottled amenities (shampoos, conditioners, body washes, lotions and gels) annually for distribution to children and families in domestic homeless shelters, women’s shelters, and rescue missions. The sanitized and recycled...

BOSTON—Regulations proposed in Massachusetts by that state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will ban commercial businesses, including hotels, from discarding food waste. Greg Cooper, director of consumer programs for the DEP, expects the regulations to be implemented by the middle of 2014. “My feeling is that it is highly unlikely it will not happen,” Cooper said. The DEP is currently in the process of holding a series of stakeholder meetings in order to develop a framework of what the ban will look like. Those discussions are taking place monthly. The framework for the regulations will done by fall, followed...

LAS VEGAS—Hoteliers, designers, architects and others seeking green product and service options had a plethora to choose from at this year’s Hospitality Design Expo + Conference. The May 15 to 17 event was held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. Attendance was up 15 percent from last year, according to show organizers, with about 7,000 in attendance and more than 900 exhibitors. There were many first-time green exhibitors, offering items ranging from hotel drinking water systems to energy-efficient LED light bulbs to a bed that transforms into a heat chamber to effectively kill dust mites...

FISH CAMP, CALIF.—Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts has earned double Silver LEED certification at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, an all-season resort located just outside of Yosemite National Park in Fish Camp, Calif. Both certifications follow a yearlong project that expanded Tenaya’s banquet, event and meeting spaces and office area, plus added a destination spa.Delaware North, which owns and operates Tenaya, followed a process laid out by its environmental program, GreenPath, to ensure environmental stewardship and measurable green practices. The company worked with Layton Construction Company and architect Peter Grove of Collaborative Design Studio.The Silver LEED-certified expansion brings Tenaya...

LAGRANGE, GA.—Interface, a designer and producer of modular carpet tile, is finalizing a strategic partnership with The Carpet Recyclers, a La Mirada, Calif.-based business that, since its establishment two years ago, has diverted more than 150 million pounds of used carpet from West Coast landfills, saved more than 15 million gallons of oil and created more than 100 green jobs. In sealing the relationship, Interface is following through on an aggressive expansion of its own carpet recycling system, ReEntry, to encompass carpet recycling specialists in regional hubs throughout North America. “In a nutshell,” explained John Wells, Interface Americas president, “Interface’s...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the Hilton Concord in Concord, Calif., and its success using the Pillow-Vac pillow renovation machine from Harris Pillow Supply. The Hilton Concord’s cost to purchase new pillows is $18.00 to $24.50 per pillow, depending upon the size and style. The overall average cost of a new pillow is $20.70. The average cost of renovating a pillow with the Pillow-Vac is $8.56, providing an average net savings of $12.14 per pillow. This includes labor, energy and other associated costs associated with the...

ORLANDO—On the heels of InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) announcement that it would partner with Clean the World—potentially adding 3,274 properties to Clean the World’s 1,400 hospitality partners—Green Lodging News spoke with Clean the World’s co-founder and CEO, Shawn Seipler, about the impact of the partnership.“It means a number of things,” said Seipler, whose organization recycles and donates partially used soap and amenities to those in need around the world. “It is another major chain on board with us. It demonstrates continued acceptance of our program by the industry. In the first year of our partnership with Starwood, we added...

SAN FRANCISCO—Green Spa Network announces the launch of the first ever “GSN Plastic Reduction Challenge”—an 11-month campaign conducted in partnership with the Plastic Pollution Coalition—where awards will be given in seven different categories to winners from day, resort and destination spas as well as spa product companies.The objective of the contest is to reduce usage of disposable plastic—like plastic bags and bottles, food and beverage items, product packaging, shipping supplies, etc.“Plastic is a material that the earth cannot digest,” says Daniella Russo, co-founder and executive director of Plastic Pollution Coalition “Every bit of plastic ever made is still here...

ORLANDO—The Peabody Orlando announced progress in its efforts to become one of the most eco-friendly hotels in the United States with the addition of ChargePoint electric vehicle chargers in its self-parking garage, which will be fully installed by early May. ChargePoint stations offer a convenient location for guests to charge electric vehicles during their stay.The Peabody Orlando has nurtured collaborations to reduce consumption and waste, and promote environmentally friendly practices throughout the hospitality industry. Through its participation in the ChargePoint America program sponsored by Coulomb Technologies and NovaCharge, The Peabody Orlando will be part of a growing network of...

TULSA, OKLA.—Totally Green, Inc., a maker of organic food processing systems and compostable packaging alternatives, announced that Intertek has approved the ORCA Green Machine to carry the ETL certification mark on all current production models. ETL certification represents a globally recognized standard that ensures consumers of product quality and safety.Intertek is a global inspection, product testing and certification company that is the largest tester of consumer goods in the world. It is an industry leader with more than 127 years of experience with more than 30,000 people in 1,000 locations in more than 100 countries.“After an extensive process, where...