SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality introduces its greenSPA amenities—a line of 100 percent biodegradable guest amenities proven to help hoteliers improve all three phases of their Triple Bottom Line—economic, social, environmental. The greenSPA line provides hotels with unique, competitively priced amenities proven to impress guests, preserve the environment and enrich recognition with today’s estimated more than 50 million environmentally conscious travelers. “Our line of all-natural greenSPA amenities—which include liquid hand soaps, lotions, body wash, shampoo and conditioner—along with our convenient dispensing systems—use less product and result in far less waste than all of those little plastic bottles,” says Ray...

NATIONAL REPORT—Foodservice operations are notorious for generating a lot of waste. Oftentimes, this can mean higher hauling fees, labor costs associated with trips to the dumpster, poor indoor air quality and a greater likelihood for pests and their related costs. Fortunately, equipment such as disposers and in-kitchen composting machines are available to reduce foodservice waste. According to Bill Sobanski, general manager for InSinkErator, Racine, Wisc., most hotels with some type of foodservice operation use disposers. Larger facilities often will have multiple disposers for food waste. With running water acting as the means for removal, disposers pulverize the waste. It ultimately...

NEW YORK—What was unthinkable several years ago may now be just what Mother Nature ordered: national advertisers competing for space in consumers’ bedrooms. The goal, set forth by the Hanger Network (www.hangernetwork.com), is simple: replace more than 3.5 billion wire hangers with advertising-supported EcoHangers that are better for the environment and great for business. Major advertisers like L’Oreal, Dunkin Donuts and Revlon are lining up for a chance at reaching consumers in-home every morning—at a time and place where their messages are most relevant and motivating, while also investing significant amounts of their ad budgets in this...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Milliken Hospitality as a Green Product Directory partner. Since 1990, Milliken has reduced its environmental footprint by more than 85 percent while setting new benchmarks in green manufacturing. All of the company’s manufacturing plants have recorded zero waste to landfill since 1999. Milliken Hospitality’s numerous product lines reflect the company’s environmental concern. All Milliken Hospitality modular carpet collections are PVC-free, chlorine free, 100 percent renewable, 100 percent recyclable, meet stringent green certifications and reduce packing waste. Bio-based TractionBack adhesive-free installation improves indoor air quality by...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Marriott International Inc. announced that it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 70,000 tons in one year—the equivalent of removing 10,000 cars from U.S. streets. As the first hotel company to proactively join the prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leaders Program, Marriott has set a five-year goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 6 percent per guestroom by 2010 and launched Marriott’s Retro-Commissioning (MRC) initiative last year to maximize energy in all U.S. hotels. As a result, Marriott reduced greenhouse gases in 2006 by 2 percent in each guestroom. Today, the company has been awarded...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Mirage’s $7 billion City Center project, an 18-million-square-foot development that will encompass 76 acres of the Las Vegas Strip between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts, is moving closer to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification one big bucket of dirt at a time. Construction has been underway for nine months now and foundations have been poured for each of the project’s seven towers. Set to open in late 2009, the mixed-use project will include the following: a soaring 60-story, 4,000-room hotel tower, casino and convention center; a five-star, 400-room Mandarin Oriental; 400-room Harmon...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Dispenser Amenities Inc. as a Green Product Directory partner. “Dispenser Amenities’ mission is to provide environmentally smart dispensing of bath and shower liquids in hotel rooms, clubs and spas,” says Warren Hodgson, international sales manager for Dispenser Amenities. “Instead of individual-use bottles that become waste, we dispense superior quality natural liquids through attractive, cost-effective dispensers that are available in designs, sizes and finishes to suit any property.” Go to Dispenser Amenities or call 800-639-4756 for more information.

CARTERSVILLE, GA.—Shaw Contract Group recently introduced EcoWorx Performance Broadloom, the commercial carpet industry’s first fully sustainable, cradle to cradle carpet backing for broadloom carpet products. With broadloom carpet comprising approximately 70 percent of the entire commercial floor covering market, the introduction of EcoWorx Performance Broadloom will play a significant role in reducing the amount of carpet sent to landfills after its useful life, and marks another significant step in Shaw Industries’ ongoing, comprehensive commitment to providing cradle to cradle product and process solutions for its customers. Built on the success of EcoWorx—the carpet industry’s first fully sustainable,...

WINTER PARK, COLO.—Winter Park Resort is stepping up its efforts to ensure good stewardship of natural resources through its new environmental initiative, Connexion. The Connexion program’s goal is to inform, involve and educate resort employees, guests and the community about the environment. Connexion includes energy reduction efforts with the purchase of sustainable wind energy credits, the utilization of single-use items made from renewable resources in the resort’s on-mountain restaurants, and an expanded recycling program. The new Eagle Wind chairlift is the latest beneficiary of wind energy, continuing Winter Park’s commitment to power all future lifts with renewable energy....

NATIONAL REPORT—Flat screen TVs are creating quite a dilemma for the lodging industry. Most hotels today have armoires but the new TVs will not fit. One chain is trying to figure out what to do with its 400,000 armoires. Do you throw them away? Give them away? Recycle them? If Mario Insenga, principal with The ReFinishing Touch had his way, every one of those armoires would be refinished. Insenga’s Alpharetta, Ga.-based company has devised a method to convert armoires to useable pieces of furniture. In short, what The Refinishing Touch does is remove the top of the armoire and refinish...