EcoGreenHotel

(and One Convenient Place to Find Them All)

Today’s environmentally-conscious, well-informed travelers expect green hotels to do more than just provide a comfortable place to stay.  They want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the green hotel they’ve chosen for their business or leisure accommodations practices energy efficiency, and that it’s resourceful and earth-friendly in every conceivable way.

As a green hotel professional, it’s your job to fulfill your guests’ expectations and even exceed them whenever you can. To help you get the job done, we’ve put together a list of products that will not only make your guest’s smile, but they’ll also be good to your green hotel’s bottom line.

• Organic Personal Care Products in Biodegradable Packaging: The Save Your World line of hotel amenities offers all natural organic products packaged in an earth-friendly way. Your guests will love the fresh tropical scents and luscious feel of these superior green hotel amenities.
• 100% Bamboo Bed Linens: Your green hotel guests will have no problem sleeping at night knowing they’re snuggled into luxurious sheets made from rapidly renewable, pesticide-free and ultra-soft bamboo.
• Eco-Friendly Cleaners: Super concentrated, hydrogen peroxide-based cleaners like Proxi are not only safe and highly effective, they can also save your green hotel a ton of money. It takes just one ounce of Proxi to make a full quart of some of the best hard surface cleaner you’ll ever use in your green hotel – and it’s earned the Green Seal certification to prove it!
• Safe Pesticides: Fighting and preventing bed bugs with toxic chemicals just isn’t on the agenda of any eco hotel. Instead, green hotels everywhere trust all natural, pesticide-free Rest Easy Bed Bug Spray to safely rid their rooms of these nasty biting parasites, once and for all.
• Recycled Key Cards: When your hotel front desk staff hands over one of these Green Earth renew Key Cards at check in, your guests will know without a doubt that eco-consciousness is not just a slogan at your green hotel. Made from 100% recycled PVC and printed with soy-based ink, these customizable, reusable cards will last and last.

Sourcing affordable, high-quality products like these for your green hotel can sometimes seem like a wild goose chase.  But the EcoGreenHotel Store makes it easy to find, order and re-order your favorite green hotel products and services – everything from the five products listed above to bath hardware and accessories, lighting, furnishings, pool care, food service and recycling supplies, and much, much more – all in one friendly and convenient online store.

So get out your shopping list and stop by at EcoGreenHotelStore.com today.  The doors are always open, the shelves are always full of great products, and the eco-deals are always hot!

Hotels can make a significant impact on waste reduction and recycling. A waste audit conducted in six properties by the Florida Energy Extension Service indicated that waste generation in guest rooms varied from 1/2 to 28 1/2 pounds of waste per day. One hotel in their pilot proje ct saved about 1.25 billion BTU of energy in six months by recycling. This reduction in energy use (which is 125,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity) is the same as energy consumed by 1,250 100-watt light bulbs burning continuously for 42-days. Imagine the savings!!

Let’s get started! Follow these eight steps to create your hotel’s recycling program – you won’t regret it, trust us!

1. Select a Recycling Coordinator

Accountability is key to the success of your green hotel’s recycling program. Who is going to be at the forefront of this effort? This is especially true at the beginning. Finding the right person to head this up is crucial. The ideal recycling coordinator will be:

• Enthusiastic about recycling and/or the environment
• Well organized
• A good communicator
• Familiar with starting, overseeing and maintaining programs
• In contact with the company’s waste haulers, janitorial staff or contracts

How much time does this position take? Well, that really depends on your employee’s participation. One hour per month is usually enough to maintain a successful hotel recycling program. Ask for volunteers, and we bet you’ll find a great candidate quickly.

2. Decide What to Collect

Consider that paper makes up an average of 37.5 percent of the waste stream. What else does your hotel use? What supplies do you have on hand? What do your guests and employees use? Take a walk around and start making a list.

Here are a few possibilities:

• Computer paper
• Aluminum cans
• Bathroom amenities
• Batteries
• Light bulbs
• Computers and accessories
• Glass bottles
• Inkjet/toner cartridges
• Plastic bottles
• Scrap metal
• Paper or plastic cups

3. Choose a Collection Method
To mix or not to mix? That is the question to ask. Now that you know which materials you are going to recycle, how do you collect them? Does everything have to be separated or can it all be thrown in the same bin? Your hotel can do either. Here are the pros and cons of each option:

Source Separation Recyclables are separated by specific type. Examples:

• Paper recycling would have many bins including: white paper, colored paper, cardboard, office mail, magazines/catalogs, etc.
• Plastic recycling would have bins for each type of plastic: #1-7

Pros:

• Bin items are extremely specific, with fewer questions as to what goes where
• Separated materials can have a higher market value
• It creates more environmental awareness for both guests and employees

Cons:

• It requires more recycling bins (and a higher setup cost)
• Your recycling coordinator may have to spend time sorting materials
• You may have to find multiple destinations for recyclables if they are source-separated
• Too many recycling containers in your guest rooms

Commingled Collection Recyclables are mixed together. The separation process happens at a material recovery facility. Examples:

• Paper recycling has one bin to collect all paper
• Plastic recycling has one bin to collect plastics #1-7 together

Pros:

• It is less time-consuming for employees
• It usually involves larger participating groups
• The recycling coordinator will have less time invested

Cons:

• Market values may be lower (e.g. mixed office paper may lower the value of computer paper if both are combined)
• Materials may be contaminated more easily if commingled
• Less opportunity for guest and employee education about recycling

4. Choose a Hauling Option
You know what materials you are recycling. You’ve determined your method of collection. You’ve got full recycling bins. Now how do you get rid of it?

Determining how to haul your green-conscious hotel’s recyclables away can be one of the greatest challenges. You should be realistic in planning how much your business is capable of recycling. The following are the most common hauling options available to most businesses:

Drop-Off Recycling Locations
Once you’ve collected all the recyclables from guest rooms, common area, back of house and the office, your recycling coordinator, or another volunteer, can drop off materials at a local center.

Earth911.com’s recycling locator will help your business find nearby drop-off locations. You can also see what your local Materials Recovery Facility will accept from businesses.

Things to consider when choosing a municipal or commercial drop-off center include:

• Recyclables accepted
• Contamination guidelines
• Minimum quantity requirements
• Prices per recyclable
• Hours of operation
• Payment options

Money earned from selling recyclables can be used to reimburse your recycling coordinator. Or, to create a fund for hotel events and parties for your dedicated hotel staff. Pick-Up Providers
Pick-up services will often require a higher quantity of recyclables that your hotel alone generates. If your green hotel can produce the amount of recyclables required for a service such as this, here is some information on how to find the right pick-up provider for your hotel:

Commercial Recyclers
Commercial recyclers are often more suited for businesses generating larger volumes of recyclables. Pick-up or hauling fees may apply. They may offer other services including waste hauling, collection bins, educational materials and/or employee training.

Commercial Waste Haulers Commercial waste haulers wanting to provide a “complete package” to their customers have started to offer recycling services, because they are able to make up their lost waste hauling fees with recycling revenue.

Commercial waste haulers may have volume and contamination requirements, pick-up fees and other requirements.

You may be able to reduce your overall waste hauling expense, and only have to deal with one company, for solid waste and recycling.

Small Haulers
Don’t meet the required volume of a commercial recycler or waste hauler? Small haulers may work for you. These companies are usually considered “mom and pop” shops. They run smaller routes with fewer trucks, employees and equipment.

Larger commercial recycling companies and waste haulers will usually recommend smaller haulers because they buy the recyclables directly from the smaller haulers.

Small haulers may also have volume and contamination requirements and pick-up fees.

Cooperative Recycling Your hotel only generates a small volume of recyclables. What can you do?

1. Partner with neighboring businesses
2. “Piggyback” onto a larger business’ recycling program

By pooling your recyclables, you can qualify for pick-up by a commercial recycler or waste hauler. Cooperative recycling is popular in multi-tenant buildings or complexes, strip malls and industrial parks. Cooperative recycling also makes it easy for recyclers to coordinate pick-ups more effectively.

If you get involved with a larger company, you win because you are able to recycle at no additional expense. The larger business wins by receiving additional volume and extra revenue.

The drawbacks?

• You may have limitations on the types of products your can recycle.
• The larger business may be penalized for any contaminated products that you send.

Back Hauling
Is your hotel in a rural location? You may have difficulty finding a recycling source. Consider back hauling (or secondhand hauling).

For instance, a grocery store could request that its delivery truck backhaul recyclables to a larger metropolitan market if the truck was empty on the return trip anyway.

Back hauling may be more challenging to find, and it’s only ideal for businesses that receive deliveries in the first place. But it’s better than not recycling your materials at all.

5. Set Up Recycling Bins and Guidelines
Organization is crucial to recycling. No matter what type of recycling program you implement, you’ll want to set up clearly-labeled plastic bins in places everyone will use them. Some good locations:

• A paper recycling bin and/or ink cartridge recycling bin in the copy room
• Aluminum/glass/plastic recycling bins in the kitchen and breakfast area
• A mixed recycling bin in all guest rooms
• An electronics recycling bin in the storage room

Another issue to consider for your recycling program is contamination. Materials that are contaminated won’t be recycled and could ruin larger batches of recycling. Luckily, contamination can easily be avoided by following these steps:

1. Rinse out containers, so bins won’t get dirty
2. Make sure there’s no food waste mixed in with recyclables (e.g. cardboard pizza box with oil remains) and that materials aren’t mixed (e.g. aluminum cans mixed with paper) if your recycler requires separation
3. When in doubt, throw it out

Now it is time to implement your hotel’s earth friendly recycling program, and there are several factors to consider, including:

Internal Collection Container Locations
Your program will only be as effective as how easy it is for guest and employees to participate. Bin quantity and location plays a huge role in this. Here are a few options:

Desk Side or Desktop Containers
Everyone goes through paper. By placing a paper recycling bin next to the trash at each employee’s and guest room’s desk, it will become second nature for them to recycle paper. You can find a range of different styles on EcoGreenHotelStore.com

Central Collection Containers
These containers are for hotel common areas, and should be placed strategically in areas where products will be collected. An office copy room is an ideal area for a paper collection container, just like the kitchen would cater (no pun intended) to aluminum and glass recycling. Common sizes for central containers are 20- to 50-gallon plastic bins.

Final Collection Containers
These are often provided by the recycling service provider and serve as a final destination for all your recyclables before they are picked up or dropped off. Products from guest rooms, office and central collection bins will be unloaded into these large bins, which are usually hampers on rollers or plastic barrels with lids and wheels.

6. Monitor Your Program
Once your hotel’s recycling program is in place, monitor its progress to evaluate cost-effectiveness, employee participation and environmental impact.

Provide Feedback to Employees
Share the success, progress and problems with your hotel’s program periodically with guests and employees. Here’s how:

• Use company-wide e-mails to distribute updates or milestones about the program
• Inform staff of certain contaminants or individuals/departments with strong participation
• Publicize to guests the quantity your company recycles and revenues over a certain period (month, quarter, year); your hauling company will be able to provide this information
• Calculate/distribute disposal cost savings based on the decrease of waste
• Survey employees/guests/departments to identify program problems and improvements
• Post informative articles on recycling, source reduction, reuse and/or the environment to further educate hotel staff
• Include information on recycling program participation in the new employee orientation and/or handbook
• Show how successful and creative your program is by promoting your hotel’s efforts outside the business through green internet marketing
• Consider applying for various local, state or federal awards, such as the American Forest & Paper Association’s Paper Recycling Awards
• Become an EPA WasteWise business to further improve your program
• Get involved in local, state and/or national recycling and environmental or industry-related organizations.
• Distribute press releases on your green hotel’s program and accomplishments. Submit your press release to EcoGreenHotel and contact us to see how you can be featured in our distributions as well as social media-marketing program.

7. Promote Your Program Through Education
Proper staff education is crucial to the success of your hotel’s recycling program. Here are some tips:

1. Education should start before your recycling program, so employees know what to recycle
2. Introduce your staff and housekeeping staff to the program in writing, such as an introductory memo, and at a staff meeting
3. If you are using a recycling pickup service provider, ask about employee education and training
4. Explain how recyclables are collected, what is recyclable, how the program will benefit the environment and the company, as well as other waste reduction and reuse measures that will be implemented
5. Show samples of recyclables and non-recyclable materials (contamination) on a board or sign near recycling containers

Recycling Signage
Create your own container and recycling signs:

• Recycle Cardboard
• Recycle Glass
• Recycle Inkjet Cartridges
• Recycle Paper
• Recycle Plastic
• Recycle Toner Cartridges
• Do NOT Recycle! Contaminants

8. The Role of the Housekeeping Staff
Housekeeping staff needs to be aware of the program since they will be collecting recyclables from each guest room. They need to be aware of the program to prevent unintentional contamination. Here are a few questions to consider:

• How will the recyclables be store in the cart separate from trash?
• How much time does this collection process add to cleaning each guest room?
• How does this impact the overall housekeeping schedule?
• What is the disposal process once collected by your housekeeping staff?

We’ve looked backwards and forwards with our last two book recommendations. Now that we have the foundation set lets take a look at “now.” How to create a company that not only sustains, but surpasses the norm and is an all-around “good” steward – truly.

Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen have co-authored a fun read. It serves as a blue print for creating a socially responsible business in this new age. This is Hollender’s push for more responsibility—of the ‘bigger’ kind. Whether you are an owner, leader, executive, general manager, junior employee or staff – this book will show you can green your practices and still make a profit.

Programs both by the government and more so by businesses have been created to bring about the social and environmental change needed in the world and the workplace. Is it really enough?

Using stories and principles from companies who are doing interesting and radical things (Linden Labs, Timberland, Etsy – to name a few), Hollender gives us ideas and methods for sustainable social responsibility. He makes a clear case for Community and Collaboration.

Two points to note are:

1. It’s a competitive advantage for your hotel to be seriously responsible (both as resources dwindle and traveler/guests demand more); and
2. “Sustainability” includes social initiatives. It starts with being green, supply chains and energy efficiency – but there is definitely more to it.

Whether you call it ‘People, Planet, Profit’ or ‘Tripple Bottom Line,’ Profits will follow when we make responsible decisions. We at EcoGreenHotel definitely believe and know the impact of that. This book will get your started, or take you further – either way, you win!

CFL bulbs or compact fluorescent light bulbs: Energy Savings

Commonly referred to as CFLs, compact fluorescent lamps or compact fluorescent light bulbs have become the basic necessity for a green hotel taking action in the modern green movement. These bulbs, which can replace incandescent, halogen and other electric lights, use 60 to 80 percent less energy than their incandescent counterparts. This makes CFLs an increasingly popular way to cut energy costs without making any radical changes like replacing lighting fixtures or rewiring which can get pretty expense in many cases.

Dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs

Aside from saving your “green” by using a fraction of the energy, compact fluorescent light bulbs have a much longer usable life than incandescent. Compared to incandescent bulbs that last about 1,000 hours, compact fluorescent light bulbs typically last between 6,000 to15,000 hours. Advancement in technology now has improved CFL bulb’s light quality and versatility by now emitting a more pleasant “soft white” light and functioning in dimmable and three-way fixtures. So what does this mean for the bottom line? Well, you can save upwards of $30 per bulb over its life and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gas emissions (times this by how many bulbs you have at your green hotel – and imagine the savings!!).

How do compact fluorescent light bulbs work?

Instead of a filament lit up with electrical energy, there are two main parts in a compact fluorescent light bulb: a gas-filled tub (also called bulb or burner) and the magnetic or electronic ballast; those with magnetic ballasts tend to flicker more, so electronic ballasts are being used more often. When you flip the switch, electrical energy, in the form of an electrical current from the ballast, flows through the gas, causing it to emit ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light then excites a phosphor coating on the inside of the tub, which then emits visible light. Amazing, isn’t it?

Compact fluorescent light bulbs and mercury

The mercury present in CFLs has been one of the most talked about issues related to compact fluorescent light bulbs. They contain only a small amount of mercury, however, because CFLs use so much less energy than their incandescent counterparts, compact fluorescent light bulbs are responsible for less mercury contamination than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, even though incandescents don’t contain any mercury.

More mercury comes from incandescents than from compact fluorescent light bulbs…how?

The highest source of mercy in America’s air and water results from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, at utilities that supply electricity; incandescents burn way more energy, so, on a macro level, require much more energy to be produced. When that energy comes from fossil fuels, like coal (which most of America’s energy does), it causes more mercury to be emitted. Additionally, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have made a voluntary commitment to cap the amount of mercury used in CFLs: “Under the voluntary commitment, effective April 15, 2007, NEMA members will cap the total mercury content in CFLs of less than 25 watts at 5 milligrams (mg) per unit. The total mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit.”

Safe mercury disposal from compact fluorescent light bulbs

Still, concerns exist about the mercury escaping from broken CFL bulbs, as safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published guidelines on how to clean up after CFL tub (remember, that’s the bulb) breakage and recommends that, in the absence of more specific local guidelines, CFLs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal. To property dispose of the spent bulbs, CFLs need to be recycled by somebody that knows what they’re doing; often, that’s with the retailer or manufacturer from whom the bulb was purchased. If those options aren’t available to you, click on over to EcoGreenHotelStore.com for pre-paid Waste Recycling Package kits that make it very easy for your green hotel to dispose CFLs.

Though the mercury is unlikely to harm you or your hotel guests, let’s be clear about this: do no, we repeat, DO NOT toss your CFLs in the trash. Putting them there greatly increases the chance of the mercury vapor escaping upon breakage, first exposing you and then the air and water around the landfill to the gas, which is bad news. So be careful with the bulbs, please.

Despite their issues with mercury, compact fluorescent light bulbs are still a great way to go greener with your hotel’s lighting needs; keep reading to learn why they’re the future (for now).

Compact fluorescent light bulbs: the future (for now)

Despite their issues with mercury, compact fluorescent light bulbs are still the way to go until LEDs become more common (that’s another article) and less expensive. Manufacturers are improving the quality of light and many more options for dimmable CFLs are becoming available; Environmental Defense and One Billion Bulbs both have lists of the dimmable bulbs.

More CFL bulbs at EcoGreenHotel

We’ve worn ourselves out keeping up with CFLs; evangelizing their use, watching them in the news, working to dispel the mercury myths and providing green hotel user tips is barely the tip of the iceberg. Check out Planet Green’s How to Green Your Lighting guide for more. Whatever you do, don’t be a dim bulb: go with CFLs now and the planet and bottom line will thank you later.

CFLs are just the start for a green hotel to become energy efficient. Click here to find out how you can assess your hotel’s energy efficiency. Maybe you’ve already done the CFL retrofit throughout your hotel and are now taking the initiative to truly go green. You can start with an Energy Efficiency Analysis by one of our EcoGreenHotel Experts. Click here to find out how you can “green” your bottom line.

Fads come and go and by now we’ve all heard of the concept  ‘going green’. Some may overlook this terminology as a short-term marketing fad. However, many global industry leaders recognized the economic advantages of going green and chose to become pioneers in the sustainability movement. They recognized that incorporating sustainable practices into daily operations provide tremendous long-term benefits for their profits, employees, suppliers, vendors, and surrounding communities.
Since 2001 Toyota’s Green Supplier Guidelines ask suppliers to go beyond legal and social requirements and to undertake activities that support its environmental goals. Apple Computers now requires its global supply base to sign Supplier Code of Conduct that incorporates a broad spectrum of sustainable business practices.

Wal-Mart’s Sustainability 360 program engages its 8,000 retail locations, 100,000 suppliers, and 2 million associates to develop goals to reduce their environmental footprint. The entire company is committed to reaching the sustainability goals by committing to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that sustain people and resources.
The hospitality industry is rapidly adopting similar practices. Marriott hotels has over 275 EnergyStar labeled hotels and is committed to increasing its green hotel portfolio ten fold in the next five years. It has 50 Marriott branded hotels in design, development, or under construction are expected to achieve the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification in 2010. InterContinental Hotel Group is currently developing, Green Engage, an extensive in-house sustainability software program that will soon assist over 4400 hotels in 150 countries increase energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, eliminate waste, and lower their impact on the environment.

Sustainability is here to stay. Over the coming years the concept will become a more effective of a tool for businesses to find hidden cost savings and operational improvements.
Interested in learning how your hotel can go green? EcoGreenHotel is working with local convention and visitor bureaus to help promote sustainability through a series of green hotel case study presentations. This February EcoGreenHotel will be presenting to Bentonville, Arkansas area hotels to show how they can help Wal-Mart achieve its sustainability goals. Visit EcoGreenHotel to learn more: www.ecogreenhotel.com

About Author
Jeff Kiec, LEED-AP and Corporate Director of Sustainability, is a veteran of the environmental service industry. His experience includes engineering building assessments, operational sustainability audits, and environmental site assessments. He has project experience in a range of property types including industrial, multi-family residential and commercial office buildings. As the Sustainability Director for Deep Ellum, a historic arts and entertainment neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, Kiec is responsible for education and working with neighborhood businesses and property owners to incorporate sustainable building technologies.
Driven by passion, EcoGreenHotel is dedicated to helping lodging facilities address environmental issues and achieve the Triple Bottom Line. EcoGreenHotel.com is also a great resource for tools, checklists, current news and trends, as well as a marketplace for green products and services at EcoGreenHotelStore.com.
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