Five star hotels will, henceforth, have to donate leftover untouched food to local shelters or food banks and also offer guests the option of ordering half portions to reduce food waste. These are among the guidelines prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and presented in the lok Sabha by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Tuesday.
She said five star hotels have been advised to take appropriate environmental friendly measures including waste reduction, water conservation, energy conservation and follow environmentally responsible purchasing practices envisaged in the guidelines formulated for Green Hotels.
The guidelines recommend purchase of “refillable soap, hair rinse and hand lotion dispensers for guest rooms” and advocate for donation of such partially-used products. Towels and sheets made from 100 per cent natural cotton, containing no chemical, dyes or bleaches, should be purchased and used linens can be given to local shelters or other charities.
Assuming that a high end hotel with an average occupancy rate of 50 per cent uses almost eight million gallons of water in a year, the guidelines call for using water-efficient fixtures that can save nearly 2.5 million gallons of water annually.
The guidelines suggest further ways of optimisation of water use. Pointing out that most of these hotels are treating just the waste water generated from kitchen and laundry, it adds that these hotels can go a step ahead by ensuring that entire waste water generated from kitchen, laundry as well as domestic sewage be treated in a biological Sewage Treatment Plant.
The guidelines also call for inculcating “environmentally responsible purchasing practices”, by buying recycled products. “Purchase toilet tissue, facial tissues and paper towels made from recycled paper. Buy cleaning products that are biodegradable — use recycled paper for letterhead and guest room stationery,” they state.