Unique Amenities

RH lodging just found some killer new amenities for our guest rooms.  The company is called Unique Amenities and they are full-bore eco-friendly.  

The line features 100% natural (no petrochemicals), biodegradable, GE-free detergents in the soaps and shampoos, etc; uses recycled plastic for packaging; uses smaller-than-average sizes for single-use packaging; and offers a rebate on all returned, used containers.

The 2nd-best part of all this is that they're 50% less expensive than what we were using before!

What?

I know.  It's exciting.  At least if you're in the hotel business and work toward sustaining your accommodations operations.

Island Paper & Supply

A big kudos to Gerard, at Island Paper & Supply for pointing me in the direction of really good sustainable products for our resort.  

For those of you who don't know Gerard and his (award-winning) efforts you could do no wrong than by chatting him up some time.  RH Lodging and Marina use him for our regular supplies like TP, soaps, office paper, etc.  Although he can get just about anything we need him to, he's been directing us these last few months on a full-bore sustainable product search.  

In the past few weeks, we've moved over all our office paper, paper towels, hand towels and toilet paper to 100% post-consumer recycled; we've moved to GE-free cleaning chemicals for our housekeeping department; and we're switching to a new line of eco-friendly guest amenities for in-room soaps, shampoos and moisturizers.  

We couldn't have done all this without Gerard and his wonderful company.

Thank you!

Green Lodging News

So I spent some time looking at www.greenlodgingnews.com this afternoon.  They are a wonderful resource for us hoteliers.  I hit their blog, which I hadn't seen before, and I noticed that the blog's only getting about a comment every other post--and his is national.  

I don't feel so bad, now, for shouting and not knowing if anyone's listening.

If you haven't been to the website www.greenlodingnews.com you should go.  It's got a ton of useful information that can be applied to any large scale office or building.

Calendar for Events

Trying out a new calendar format.  Since you all have been so vocal in your comments (ZERO so far since this blog started!!!), I thought it would be a good idea to ask you what you thought??

Solid Waste

Nantucket, Mass. is a very comparable island community two hours off the coast, a two-hour drive from a major metropolitan community of several million people.  The island is highly seasonal in nature, relies on a tourist economy, and runs into the same isolation conditions we do with regards to shipping everything on or off the island.

Here's something interesting to know: 

San Juan County Solid Waste budget: $3.8 million

Nantucket Solid Waste budget: $8.2 million

SJC population: 15,000

Nantucket population: 10,000

SJC solid waste spending per person: $253

Nantucket solid waste spending per person: $820

SJC diversion rate for reusables, recyclables and compostables: less than 25%

Nantucket diversion rate for reusables, recyclables and compostables: more than 75%

So they spend three times as much money as we do, and the result is three times as much diversion.  

If we're really going to have a change in our solid waste programs here on the island, it's going to have to be a paradigm shift...

Are you willing to sacrifice an extra $500 to sustain our solid waste systems? 

 

County Council Update

Okay.  Meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 24th at 11am.  

Hope to see you there!

County Council Update

I'm pleased to update y'all on the county council's follow-up to my query on the resolution no. 8: Climate Change.  The council plans to address the topic on Tuesday, March 10 at 10:20am.  I will be there to listen to what they have to tell us about the progress they've made so far.  Exciting stuff, right?!?!

I propose that we pack the meeting with as many people as we can to show the council (with our physical presence) how important this topic is to our community.  If you can make the time, please show up at the legislative office across the street from the courthouse on Monday, March 10 at 10:00am.  And please bring anyone and everyone you can think of that is interested in sustaining our island's environment, economy, and culture.

Remember: decisions are made by those who show up.

Bottled Water in Guest Rooms

For anyone who's been following, I've struggled to find an appropriate solution to the bottled water problem at Roche Harbor. The water tastes uniquely of Roche Harbor and we need to offer guests who pay $400/night for a room something more attune to the common palette. I don't like the bottled water approach for obvious reasons: it is entirely unsustainable, environmentally and economically. And, at its most basic reasoning, it's downright silly to drink water consistently out of a throwaway container--it demonstrates lack of planning on the drinkers part and I have little sympathy.

So: we have come up with an idea that will work to meet my sustainability goals, as well as the guests' needs: provide a 5-gallon cooler in a good-feeling way in each hallway in the building, and place simple 1-qt. pitcher in each guest room to use as a vessel to hold the water and keep cold in a personal refrigerator. (The idea was a collaboration...thanks, Janine!)

I'm stoked about this resolution and pleased that it seems so logical. Let's hope it plays well with the guests!

Bioplastics

I just keep going back and forth on the PLA thing!  I'm still liking the focus on reducing, and not using the bottles at all is, of course, the best thing.  And PLA is certainly not the answer because of the corn and CO2 issues.  But until the answer is given/created/produced, might there be some Good in using PLA?

Bioplastics do have some redeeming qualities, one of which I hadn't thought of until I did some research on bottled water for work: the more we focus on compostable "plastics" the more demand will grow for composting, the more compost facilities will be put at the center of discussion for solid waste.  I can think of no more important conversation to have when discussing MSW reduction/treatment, and if PLA helps move that agenda forward then all the better.

Now I've got to find some way to work through my disdain for the American corn system and how it's integrated into the American economic culture!

One thing at a time, though...

Sustaining Sustainability

So here's an important question that needs a good answer: why aren't more people buying into sustainability?  I'm not even going as far as to ask why don't they live sustainable, or engage more often in sustainable practices.  I'm just asking the most basic question: Why don't they buy it?

I ask this because a mere four months ago, even knowing a lot about it and having friends who were involved in it, I didn't buy it.  What sold me on it was the inefficiency of not living sustainable; thinking of the life that my daughter will live in the coming years; and finding a place to channel my effervescent energies.  

What are your reasons?

(Bio)plastics

So I'm going through the catalogues and vendor lists to find a product that we can give to our guests at RH that offers them good tasting water, while staying true to sustainability.  

Currently we use Earth H2O, which I now think is a bit of an oxymoron.  I first thought we should move to some sort of bioplastic to replace these bottles; but then I realized that that wasn't going to work because the water breaks down the corn-based plastic too quickly.  In the course of my basic learning about these kinds of plastics, though, it was pointed out that all the corn that goes into these plastics requires a high level of processing, which requires a high amount of resources, which means that there's a large carbon footprint left during the entire process.  

Two things: A friend told me that it's important not to get on board too fast with faddish ideas, no matter if it's green or not.  And secondly, another friend reminded me of that the reduce, reuse, recycle motto is a hierarchy, not just randomly ordered.  

Both are good to keep in mind, right?

More Savings at Roche Harbor

More good news at Roche Harbor Lodging in our effort to conserve energy: We just got our January OPALCO bill, and we saved 47% over the same period last year.  In December, we saved 34%--and that was with the longest cold spell in 18 years going on during the month.  

If there are any business managers/owners out there that are reading this, think of the savings you can make to your company during these tough economic times.  Controlling costs is the most important thing you can do when you have a hard time generating revenue.  

What better way than to combine controlling costs and energy?