WASTE MANAGEMENT: ADVERTORIAL
Making room for better recycling
How a luxury hotel transformed their waste management with Rubbermaid Commercial Products and achieved a suite of savings.
With businesses across all sectors facing growing pressure to address their environmental impact, many are implementing more sustainable practices. Although 60% of businesses cite the perceived investment and increased ongoing costs of more sustainable practices as a barrier to implementation1
, these changes should be seen as an opportunity to unlock significant savings.
As part of their journey to becoming a zero waste hotel by 2025, five-star hotel The Merrion in Dublin partnered with international waste and recycling manufacturer Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) to roll out an improved waste and recycling management system alongside an employee training and engagement programme, which resulted in an increase in their recycling rate to 74% and a reduction in their waste management costs.
Hospitality’s biggest hurdles
From labour shortages to higher operational costs and the increasing pressure to implement better sustainability practices, the hospitality industry is facing a variety of challenges that put a strain on the planet and budgets.
What’s more, with Simpler Recycling legislation coming into effect in England in March 2025, requiring businesses to separate recyclable waste, and with landfill taxes set to rise by 20% in April 2025, the time to invest in better waste management is now.
Highlighting wasted opportunities
Driven by a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, The Merrion’s main challenge was to reduce the rate at which waste was ending up in landfill. As well as negatively impacting the environment, it was also imposing a significant financial burden due to increasing waste disposal costs. The waste management system in place was inefficient and disjointed, with inadequate signage. The lack of clarity resulted in a substantial number of labour hours being sunk into sorting and separating materials to prevent contamination.
The hotel was also finding it difficult to motivate employees to take part in recycling efforts. This was partly due to overly complex and confusing guidelines leading to disengagement and a lack of understanding about which materials could be recycled, and where.
Sorting success and achieving savings During a consultation with RCP, the hotel was able to
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identify areas where they could improve overall operational efficiency as well as reduce costs.
The removal of landfill bins from non-guest areas and the introduction of closed-lid systems helped to increase recycling throughout the site. However, by far one of the most impactful changes recommended by RCP was the introduction of consistent colour-coded bins with clear labelling throughout both back-of-house and front-of-house areas of the hotel.
This consistency, along with an employee training programme, has driven a culture of compliance, making it easy for employees to follow the same procedures and making the process of recycling more effective.
The new system has proved instrumental in guiding staff towards correct disposal and has yielded significant cost savings in waste disposal. In addition, as the containers and other equipment are durable and reliable and come with long-term warranties, The Merrion will not have to fork out on frequent replacements or breakdowns.
A blueprint for other sectors
What about other industries? The new commercial recycling legislation that is due to come into effect in March 2025 will affect all businesses in England with 10 or more full-time employees. This means that all businesses will be required to implement changes to their waste management systems if they aren’t currently separating recycling relevant waste prior to collection.
No matter the industry, businesses can make significant cost savings, increase their recycling rate and improve their sustainability credentials by investing in an efficient multi- stream system with clear labelling and cohesive containers.
www.rubbermaid.eu
NOTE: 1. RCP: Why Product Longevity is a Powerful First Step to Improving Commercial Sustainability, 2022
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