Green norms for hotels aim to prevent food wastage
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-12/india/41331628_1_green-hotels-green-guidelines-guest) (07.10.2013)
NEW DELHI: You may soon have an
option to order ‘half’ portion of your choicest food items in posh hotels in the country, if you don’t
feel like having ‘full’ plate. The option will not only save your money but
also save food stuffs from getting waste.
Untouched leftover food items
in the hotels’ kitchen will then end up reaching food banks or local shelters,
instead of going into drains. This and many other options are parts of 48 dos
and don’ts for hotels under the green norms of the government.
Amid concerns over
misuse of substantial amount of water, food stuffs and other utilities in such
hotels, the Union ministry of environment and forest has come out with a
detailed guidelines for ‘Green Hotels’ to reduce waste through various
eco-friendly measures.
Under the green guidelines, the
hotels are also asked to purchase towels and sheets made from 100% natural
cotton (containing no chemical, dyes or bleaches), purchase refillable soap,
hair rinse and hand lotion dispensers for guest rooms, donate partially-used
product and used linens to local shelters or other charities and re-use of left
‘unopened’ amenities by the next guest.
Sharing this in the LokSabha, the environment minister JayanthiNatarajan in her written response to a Parliament question said, “The
five start hotels have been advised to take appropriate measures like waste
reduction, water and energy conservation and follow environmentally
responsible purchasing practices envisaged in the guidelines for Green
Hotels”.
She said the guidelines were
being enforced for compliance by the hotels. Respective State Pollution Control
Board has the responsibility to enforce it within the state, she added.
Referring to waste of water in
hotels, the minister noted that the wastewater discharge from hotels varies
from 51% to 93% of the total water consumption depending upon the wastewater
management practices adopted by them.
“Assuming a 50% occupancy
rate, a 200-room hotel uses almost eight million gallons of water in a year.
Using water-efficient fixture could save nearly 2.5 million gallons of water a
year”, said the guidelines while suggesting use of low flow showerheads, bath and sink faucet aerators
and low flow toilets.
To encourage environmentally
responsible purchasing practices, the guidelines suggest the hotels to buy
recycled products like toilet tissue, facial tissues and paper towels.
“Buy cleaning products that are biodegradable, use recycled paper for
letterhead and guest room stationery,” it said.
Preference of use of invertors instead of diesel generation
sets, switch to low-watt fluorescent light in place of bulbs, installation of
solar water heatingparabolic concentrator for cooking, solar lighting, solar
AC, use of pollution free electric vehicles and use of recycling bins for guest
rooms or floors are some of the other important points in the guideline.