The concept of “waste” is closely linked to the concept of something without value after use. Our challenge is to make sure all of our products value after their use at our hotels. Whether it is to be used as decoration, turned into compost, or more often converted back into a primary material that can be re-manufactured again, there’re many options for finding value in our products at the end of their use.
So when we look at eliminating the concept of waste, we look to steps from the 3Rs, much like our teams were based off of:
1. Reduce: do not generate waste.
2. Reuse: encourage the reuse of materials instead of disposing.
3. Recycle: those materials that we cannot do without or that are not reusable, utilize recycling so the raw material continues generating new articles. For this process, we do the following:
- Segregate the materials to give them the best chance for a next use (all “recyclable” materials, from cardboard or plastic to used oil).
- Increase the number of articles of materials that can have a next use. This can be broken down into two main groups:
- A material already recyclable today, which only needs some treatment to be recycled. For example, if we have plastic meat wrappers that are stained, we can clean and recycle them instead of throwing them into the general garbage bin
- Materials that up to now we did not recycle because we did not work with authorized managers to treat this item, such as old textiles that up to now were thrown in the general garbage.
- Optimize the valuation of recyclable materials: try to obtain the highest value for it, following the principles of the circular economy, as raw material to be kept in use, instead of having to extract new raw material.
This approach is made possible by the creation of our 3Rs teams. These teams are dedicated waste management teams paying special attention to how waste is generated and separated and how to move it in the most efficient way to minimize its volume. Additionally, the 3Rs teams are in charge of weighing the waste, an essential process to measure and track the evolution of different measures put in place to reduce waste.
In addition to the equipment, material means are needed for waste management, from bins and containers to compactors, shredders, electric carts, improved storage facilities and tablets to audit waste separation and weigh it.
Finally, it is necessary to be clear about how to proceed with waste, corresponding tasks for each department and training for personnel to understand the tasks.
