LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International has earned top honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for outstanding achievement in food waste recycling programs at the company’s Las Vegas Strip resorts. The company will be presented with the EPA’s 2011 WasteWise Gold Achievement-Food Recovery Award as part of the agency’s annual competition, which recognizes public and private entities for their environmental sustainability efforts. The EPA will give Gold Achievement awards in 12 sustainability categories.   The EPA WasteWise Gold Achievement Award is the third national award that MGM Resorts has earned for its recycling program. The Glass Packaging Institute recognized MGM Resorts...

FAIRFIELD, N.J.—Tommy Bahama dispensers have found a home in a number of hotels along the Pacific Coast with the help of Essential Amenities, Inc. and Pineapple Hospitality. The Acqua Hotel, Hotel FIVE, The Maxwell Hotel, University Inn, and Watertown Hotel have all recently adopted the Tommy Bahama hotel amenities in all guestrooms as part of an effort to reduce waste and make a positive impact on the environment. “We’re very proud because we are the first hotel in California to feature the Tommy Bahama dispensers,” says Kurt Helmke, general manager for the Acqua Hotel, located in Marin County just outside...

NOTTINGHAM, PA.—Zandur, a green manufacturer dedicated to developing the world’s most environmentally sensitive flooring products, announces the launch of a new tile size in their “True Green” line of natural Cork Rubber Flooring. The 12" x 24" tile addition creates extensive opportunity for designers to discover their own unique patterns by mixing and matching square or plank cut tile in nearly limitless combination. Zandur’s high performance material is available in 48 standard colors.    Zandur’s Cork Rubber Flooring is made from more than 65 percent recycled and renewable cork and 35 percent rubber and meets the requirements of numerous...

NEW YORK—Protect-A-Bed, a leading supplier of bedding protection products for the hospitality industry, will focus on hygiene and showcase sustainability solutions in the company’s expanded booth (#3132) at IHMRS.  Protect-A-Bed, an established leader in the continual fight against bed bug infestations, is encouraging hoteliers to also think about another ongoing challenge. “While bed bug infestations will continue to cause problems for hotel owners and operators, there’s actually a more consistent threat that is universal: the human contamination of mattresses,” says Sandra DiVito, vice president of Hospitality at Protect-A-Bed. “Hoteliers are challenged every day to maintain clean mattresses for their guests,”...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced a partnership with the Global Soap Project, a nonprofit organization that recovers and recycles soap from hotels that would otherwise end up in landfills. The Global Soap Project sorts, reprocesses and remolds used soap into new bars and distributes them to vulnerable populations in developing countries who are at risk of sanitation and hygiene-related disease. In its first year of the partnership, Hilton Worldwide expects this investment to result in the donation of more than one million new 4-ounce bars of soap to people in need. “At Hilton Worldwide, we are constantly measuring, analyzing and...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes The Green Garmento as a Product & Service Directory partner. The Green Garmento is a laundry bag that transforms into a hanging garment bag, eliminating hotel employees’ needs to use single-use plastic and paper. The Green Garmento also replaces the single-use drycleaning plastic when used in guestrooms; allowing guests to use it there or take them home, creating a profit center. The new KangerHanger pouch bag (with a pouch for hangers) is an IHMRS 2011 Editor’s Choice Finalist. The Green Garmento compliments many hotels’ green initiatives. Not only...

ST. JOHNSBURY, VT.—Offering recycling to its guests and staff, and expanding green purchasing have allowed the 107-room Comfort Inn & Suites in St. Johnsbury, Vermont to reduce its environmental footprint, respond to guest requests, and to be recognized as a Green Hotel through the Vermont Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State Program (also known as the Vermont Green Hotels Program). In April 2009, the Comfort Inn agreed to work with the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), the Vermont Green Hotels Program, and EPA New England to initiate a recycling program and to increase and document its green purchasing efforts. These...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Totally Green as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Totally Green’s ORCA Green Machine turns food waste into a water effluent in 24 hours, using the company’s proprietary microorganism solution and Bio-Chips to thoroughly digest food waste. The result is nutrient-rich grey water that can be sent into the sewer system or repurposed. The ORCA Green Machine offers an environmentally-friendly method of on-site food waste disposal. The machine is available in three sizes, processing 600, 1,200 or 2,400 pounds of food per day. The ORCA Green...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Central Florida Marriott Business Council, a sponsor of the Inaugural Clean the World Gala, is showing what kind of impact a dedicated group of hotel properties can have when they make a decision to help Clean the World. The council of 17 Central Florida hotel properties, representing a variety of Marriott brands throughout the region, will be well-represented at the Gala—in person and with the soaps and bottled amenities they have collected for Clean the World. Since partnering with Clean the World in 2009, the Central Florida Marriott Business Council properties have made 466 shipments to Clean the World,...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide and its portfolio of 10 hotel brands announced the 2010 results of LightStay, its sustainability measurement system. Since the introduction of LightStay, the company continues to improve sustainability and economic performance and saved more than $74 million in utility costs as a result of the following reductions: 6.6 percent reduction of energy use; 7.8 percent reduction of carbon output; 19 percent reduction of waste output; and 3.8 percent reduction of water use. To date, Hilton Worldwide’s efforts are equivalent to the removal of more than 50,000 cars from the road, water savings that could fill more than...