Chapter 6 : Waste as Resources

The amount of municipal solid waste incinerated was about 248,842 tonnes in 2003. The increasing trend of solid waste quantity in Macao, as evidenced in the past decade’s waste statistics, means that concerted actions should be taken to alleviate this pressing solid waste problem. The hotel industry, being one of the most significant economic sectors in Macao, can play a part to help reduce waste in Macao. In addition to waste reduction at source, the hotel industry has presently been undertaking recycling of waste. Figure 6.1 shows that, based on the results of the Macao Hotel Environmental Survey 2003, about 52%, 31% and 28% of the hotels surveyed have been implementing recycling of paper/carton waste, aluminium cans/scrap metals and ink/toner cartridges respectively.

(Photo 6.1) Incineration plant in Macao.	Figure 6.1 : Waste Recycling Practice of Macao Hotels (Source : Macao Hotel Environmental Survey).

Typical Wastes

The type and mix of wastes that a hotel generates will be unique, depending on the types of facilities available. Box 6.1 shows some typical materials that can be found in hotels.

Box 6.1 – Typical Wastes in Hotels

Why Reduce Waste ?

Hoteliers have enormous opportunities to reduce waste by establishing waste reduction and recycling programmes and by purchasing recycled products. Not only can these actions reduce waste and save money, they also increase employee morale and customer satisfaction.

(Photo 6.2) Recycling of used toner cartridge.

Waste Reduction = Money Savings

• Less waste, more savings.

• Conserve our limited resources.

• Preserve Macao’s natural environment.

• Maintain Macao’s position as one of the most popular tourism destinations in Asia.

• Prolong operation period of waste treatment facilities in Macao.

Box 6.2 – Savings from Waste Reduction – Illustration 1

The food serving operation in a hotel is usually a source of waste glassware / ceramics because of improper handling practices. Taking measures to control the breakage of glassware / ceramics in food serving operations is a wise initiative for reducing the replacement cost of glassware / ceramics. These measures may include a management approach (e.g. establishing a staff incentive scheme to encourage better housekeeping for reduced breakage rate) and control measures (e.g. placing a soft protective mat in the dish washing area to avoid broken glassware / ceramics). See illustration below :

Quantity of glassware saved = 48 pieces per year

Box 6.3 – Savings from Waste Reduction – llustration 2

Some hotel coffee shops use paper table mats. The paper table mats are discarded after each meal, causing a lot of contaminated paper waste. Because of the contamination of food residue, this paper waste has usually little or no recycling value. Replacing paper table mats with reusable table mats in the coffee shops is a viable solution. See illustration below :

Number of reusable mats discarded per year= (200 x 365) / 500 = 146
Annual reduction in table mat = (200x365x5x10^-3 ) - (146x200x10^-3 ) = 336 kg
Annual amount of paper mats avoided per year = 200x365 = 73000 pieces

Ways You Can Help

Most environmentally conscious hotels around the world have one thing in common – a well established and effective waste management programme in place. Although each of their waste management programmes is unique in content and is specific to a hotel, their programmes usually involve measures to :

• Avoid / reduce the quantity of waste produced, by avoiding or minimising unnecessary materials, over-packaging, disposable items, or by reusing items in their original form for the same or a different purpose.

• Recycle materials, by collecting materials at source, followed by sorting and extracting recyclables as well as reprocessing at recycling facilities to form products of the same or different functions.

• Buy, or offer for sale, recycled products to support the balanced development of the waste recycling industry.

In the following sections, some waste reduction tips, grouped by areas of application, are described :

(Photo 6.3) Post signs at photocopiers to remind staff to duplex print whenever possible.

a. Administration

• Establish a guiding policy that favours purchasing of environmentally friendly products and inform the suppliers of the policy.

• Encourage staff members to examine the possibility of repairing items instead of purchasing new ones.

• Buy goods in bulk to avoid excessive packaging.

• Encourage staff members to raise waste reduction suggestions.

• Reuse paper printed on one side only as scratch paper .

• Provide mugs for desk workers in lieu of disposable cups.

• Establish a policy of two-sided photocopying whenever feasible. Post signs at photocopiers to remind staff to duplex print whenever possible.

• Encourage the use of e-mail and bulletin board instead of circulation of hard copies for internal communication.

• Use refillable stationery (e.g. pens, pencils, markers, etc.) rather than disposable ones.

• Reuse envelopes for inter-office circulation.

• Choose solar powered appliances to avoid battery disposal.

• Collect all “ink” or “laser toner” cartridges from computer printers and fax machines for recycling.

• Purchase rebuilt or recharged cartridges.

• Use procurement software to minimise the paperwork and allow better inventory control

b. Guest Rooms and Other Guest Facilities

• Encourage guests to reduce the amount of packaging they accept when they purchase items by posting waste reduction reminders in guest rooms.

(Photo 6.4) Consider the use of dispensers for soap, lotion, shampoo.

• Initiate a bed sheet replacement programme allowing linens to be replaced less frequently upon patrons’ consent.

• Initiate a towel replacement programme where towels left on the floor are replaced and those hung on towel rods are left for reuse.

• Use refillable bottles/containers, rechargeable batteries and other items that can be reused or recycled in guest rooms.

• Consider the use of dispensers for soap, lotion, shampoo, etc. in both guest rooms and health clubs.

• Implement an in-room recycling programme for cardboard, newspaper, aluminium cans, plastic and glass.

• Offer bags in gift shops upon request only.

c. Housekeeping and Laundry

(Photo 6.5) Always adopt the “First-In-First-Out” principle in inventory control to avoid expiry of materials before their consumption.

• Always adopt the “First-In-First-Out” principle in inventory control to avoid expiry of materials before their consumption.

• Collect toilet paper rolls remaining in guest rooms for internal use.

• Old towels make great dustcloths.

• Use worn out linens or tablecloths as rags.

• Provide shower caps and sewing kits on request only.

• Provide reusable bags for pick-up of guest laundry.

• Provide wrapper for delivery of guest laundry and dry-cleaned clothes upon request only.

d. Restaurant and Kitchen

• Eliminate use of disposable cups and dishes (e.g. styrofoam products) in restaurants or room service.

• Avoid using single-serving condiment packages (sugar, sugar substitute, margarine, butter, salt, pepper, ketchup, etc) in restaurants or catering functions. Use appropriate-size containers for multi-servings at each time.

• Reduce the use of drinking straws as far as possible. Consider providing upon request only.

• Use durable utensils made of ceramic or stainless steel and avoid providing non-reusable and disposable containers and items for carrying food products.

• In hotel restaurants and in room service, use sterilised cloth towels instead of paper towel/tissue.

• Use reusable table mats rather than paper mats.

• Set baked goods at discounted price close to closing hours to avoid disposing stale goods.

• Provide self service rather than standard meal in staff canteen to minimise the wastage of food waste.

(Photo 6.6) Avoid using single-serving condiment packages.	(Photo 6.7) Collect old electrical appliances for recycling.	(Photo 6.8) Set up recycling bins for recyclable waste.

e. Surplus Materials and Waste Handling

• Establish specific waste management measures for various waste types generated within your hotel (e.g. papers, plastic packaging, metallic containers, glass bottles, food waste, etc.).

• Donate unwanted or surplus food, linens, furniture, decorative ancillaries, etc. to local charities.

• Use shredded waste paper for packaging.

• Collect back all obsolete electric wires / cables and equipment during maintenance works for either in-house reuse or external recycling.

• Collect old electrical appliances for recycling.

• Return packaging materials such as cartons and wooden pallets to suppliers for reuse.

Perform a Simple Waste Audit

The amount of waste produced by a hotel is determined by variables that differ from one to another. To determine what waste management measures are most relevant and cost-effective to your site, you need to examine your own waste stream.

A waste audit is a simple assessment of the types and quantities of waste that a business generates. It can help you decide what possible waste reduction/recycling options there are in your hotel, and enable you to make fact-based decisions on selecting which options are to be integrated into your waste management programme.

• List your major waste sources : First of all identify where the major sources of waste generation in your hotel are (e.g. kitchen, guest rooms, etc.).

• Find out the types and quantities of waste at each source : For each waste source you need to identify the different types and quantities of waste. Apart from reviewing purchasing and waste disposal records, which may help you develop an estimate of your waste materials, a more effective way is to walk through the entire facility. A walk-through, together with an analysis of the purchasing and waste records, will provide a reasonably good accounting of your waste stream from various sources.

• Know how each type of waste is handled : The walk-through exercise will also help you understand the existing handling practices for waste from different sources and their effectiveness.

• Think what can be done differently : Knowing the existing practice, the next step is to see whether the practice can be changed to a more environmental friendly manner. Brainstorm among staff from various functions will very often generate brilliant options.

• Make your decisions : Following the identification of options, a simple evaluation can be made to determine the most cost-effective options. Sometimes the evaluation may involve a straightforward reasoned judgement, but sometimes the evaluation may involve a more detailed look at the financial and technical issues. Obviously options with immediate or fast economic return or that involve little investment, yet generate appreciable environmental benefits should be considered first. Your selected options can then be integrated into your waste management programme for implementation.

Box 6.4 – Converting Food Waste into Compost by Composting

Hotels can consider using a composter to convert food waste into useful compost in order to alleviate the waste problem. Normally, the food waste can be eliminated within 24 – 48 hours. A volume reduction of as much as 90% can be achieved. Compost can be collected once every 4 - 6 months and used for soil conditioner/fertiliser.

Advantages:

(Photo 6.9) A composter can convert food waste into useful compost in order to alleviate the waste problem.

• Reduce waste volume and hence reduce the burden to incinerator.

• Reduce the collection and transportation cost of food waste.

• Completely automatic operation and easy maintenance.

• The compost can be sold or used for horticulture.

Considerations:

• Whether it will generate odour.

• Space of electric composter occupied.

• Animal bone and items other than food waste need to be removed before composting.

• Potential use of organic fertilizers.

Box 6.5 – Plastic Bottle and Aluminium Can Compactor

Due to the irregular shape and considerably bulky volume of plastic bottles, plastic bottle recycling generally incurs a high cost of transportation. The income from recycling plastic bottles usually cannot cover transportation costs, which discourages this recycling activity at the outset. An on-site plastic bottle and aluminium can compactor or a truck-mounted compactor can reduce the volume of plastic bottles and aluminium cans effectively and hence their transportation cost. E.g. A hotel in Hong Kong has installed a compactor.

Advantages:

(Photo 6.10) Plastic and aluminium can compactor can reduce the volume of plastic bottles and aluminium cans effectively and hence their transportation cost.

• Reduce interim storage space for plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

• Reduce the transportation cost of the compacted plastic bottles and aluminium cans to recycling destinations.

• Recyclers are willing to pay the waste generators for the compacted waste.

Considerations:

• Choose the equipment that produces minimal noise.

• Provide staff with adequate safety instructions.

Case Studies

a. Case Study 6.1 – A Hotel near Airport, Hong Kong, China

A hotel near airport in Hong Kong has joined the Wastewi$e Scheme since 1999, a HKSAR government programme that assists companies to implement waste reduction measures and recognises their achievements in waste reduction. The hotel has been awarded with a Gold Wastewi$e Logo granted by the HKSAR government since 2002.

Waste Management Measures Adopted

• Reducing consumption of paper, key cards.

• Recycling of waste paper, aluminium cans, plastic bottles, used cooking oil.

• Retrieving guest laundry plastic hangers for reuse.

• Reducing the amount of lighting, thereby minimising the disposal of burnt out lighting devices.

Benefits

• Savings in 2002 : 21,446 pieces of plastic keycard; 63,320 sheets of paper; 4,685 pieces of plastic hangers.

• Recycling achievements in 2002 : 91,888 kg of waste paper recycled; 5,774 kg of plastic bottles recycled; 938 kg of aluminium cans recycled; 5,596 kg of used cooking oil recycled.

Key to Success

• Encourage and let every staff participate in waste management activities.

• Constantly raise staff’s awareness of environmental protection.

b. Case Study 6.2 – A Hotel in Miami, USA

“Inter-Cycle” is the name of the waste minimisation and management programme of a hotel in Miami, USA. Their Programme includes :
• All suppliers are asked to take back wooden crates and pallets for reuse.

• Collection and recycling of paper, PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate) and HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) plastic, cardboard, glass, scrap metal, styrofoam and aluminium are implemented.

• Edible left-over food is donated to food banks.

• Guest amenities e.g. soap and lotions are collected for reuse.

• Old furniture and decorative items are donated to local charities.

• Old sheeting is reused as laundry bags to replace plastic bags.

• Old electrical appliances are re-sold to suppliers.

• Christmas trees are planted to be reused in the following year.

• Batteries and fluorescent lamps are recycled.

• Motor and kitchen oils are collected for recycling.

• Reusable containers are reused for storing and holding cleaning liquids.

Before “Inter-Cycle” began the hotel generated 1,420 tons of waste annually and disposal costs amounted to
US$85,000 per annum. With the start of “Inter-Cycle”, over 30 different items and 45% of the hotel’s waste is recovered and recycled. Disposal volumes have fallen to 679 tons and disposal costs are down to US$31,000 per annum.

Case study 6.3 – A Hotel in Shanghai, China

The hotel is the first ISO 14001 certified environment-friendly hotel in Shanghai, China. The hotel promotes “green thinking” in each department through minimising paper wastage by re-usage and recycling. Discarded batteries are collected for centralised disposal. Used oil and grease are collected by an outside licensed disposal contractor for further disposal. Even in its staff canteen, a waste bin has been specially designed for dry and wet waste segregation. Each employee is also provided with an environmental policy card, which can always be referred to during work.

Case study 6.4 – Hotels in Macao, China

The three most common waste types for recycling are paper waste/cartons, aluminium cans/scrap metals and ink/toner cartridges. Also, over 10% of respondents have practised recycling of plastics/styrofoam and used furniture.

Other types of waste management practices adopted by hotels are as follows:

• Replace plastic bottles of soap and shampoo with soap dispensers in guest rooms.

• Return bleaching agent containers to supplier.

• Reuse old towels as housekeeping bags.

• Replace paper napkins with towels.

• Use paper with recycled content.