At Langham ' s Cordis hotel in Auckland , New Zealand , Christmas trees are made of recycled products including oyster shells . |
For hotels , reducing waste has gone beyond a moral imperative and become an economic one : The food scraps , packaging materials and cleaning chemicals that hotels – and guests – generate impose numerous hard costs . And some of the world ’ s most beautiful destinations lack sufficient systems to handle this waste , says Alexa Poortier , founder of It Must Be Now , a global community of responsible companies based in Switzerland . The waste “ starts to destroy the very attractions that bring business ,” she says . Savvy hoteliers are taking |
steps : In Amsterdam , Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin composts food waste , says Stephan Stokkermans , managing director , which removes water and cuts weight by 85 % within 24 hours , slashing removal costs . The compost fertilizes the hotel ’ s gardens . And the composting machine should pay for itself within three years . “ It ’ s a no-brainer ,” he says .
Another area hotel companies are tackling is plastics packaging : More are banning plastic straws and replacing tiny amenity bottles with full-sized versions . Bangkokbased Akaryn Hotel Group aims to become free of
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single-use plastics by 2020 , says Anchalika Kijkanakorn , founder and managing director . Its newest location , Akyra Tas Sukhumvit in Bangkok , will open without any single-use plastics in rooms and F & B outlets and offer guests reusable steel water bottles . “ It ’ s something people can easily do and feel good ,” she says .
Langham Hotels locations create “ sustainable Christmas trees ” made of , among other items , wood , recycled bottles and oyster shells . “ Luxury can be sustainable ,” says Carmen Ng , director of sustainability at Langham Hospitality Group .— K . KROLL
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June 2018 hotelsmag . com 49 |