Hotel Guests Can Help Conserve With Linen Cards

WORLD WASTES STAFF

Houston - Hotel housekeeping now has more to look for than just "Do Not Disturb" signs on guests' doors.

"Green Hotels" Association is offering travelers a set of linen cards that let hotel management know it is not necessary to change linens daily.

"Hotels all over the world use millions of gallons of water and tons of detergent washing linens that have been used only once," said Patricia Griffin, the association's president. "Because of this waste, hotels have a huge impact on our environment and on our planet." She added that travelers can make a difference.

Green's set of linen cards - one for towels, one for sheets - are addressed from the guest to the housekeeper, with translations in Spanish, French, German and Jap-anese. In addition, a letter to the ho-tel manager lets the hotel know that the guest will decide when the linens are changed and alerts housekeeping to look for the cards.

The linen cards save hotels water, energy, detergent, labor and wear and tear on equipment and linens. Also, residue from detergent is kept out of the water.

In a survey in National Geographic Traveler, an overwhelming majority reportedly responded favorably to the use of the linen cards, saying they would be willing to re-use their towels and sheets during a hotel stay.

"Green" Hotels Association en-courages, supports and promotes ecological consciousness in the hospitality industry through its trade association and its Catalog of En-vironmental Products for the Lodging Industry.

Approval The Council of the City of New York ap-proved a solid waste management plan update and modi-fication that requires a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement - to evaluate current health and environmental factors - before opening a waste-to-energy facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Ban The Orange Regional Landfill now charges waste haulers $62 per ton for waste mixed with recyclable corrugated cardboard; small loads are assessed a $25 penalty fee. The landfill's ban re-quires that the corrugated cardboard be separated from the solid waste stream and recycled.

Certification The Red-mond, Wash., office of Golder Associates Inc., Atlanta, has achieved ISO 9001 certification on the basis of its Qual-ity Management System. This is the first American Golder office to meet this standard.

Grant The California In-tegrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, has an-nounced that three dozen local agencies will receive grants totaling $2.9 million to keep landfills and solid waste facilities free of dangerous residential waste.

New Association The In-ternational Association of Geosynthetic Installers, St. Paul, Minn., was created to address industry concerns and development strategies for landfill liners.

New Facilities FCR Inc., Charlotte, N.C., brought its ninth processing facility on line in Mine Hill, N.J.

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., Gainesville, Fla., has opened a new facility to recover cadmium from used nickel-cadmium batteries.