Singapore Hotel Association launches green initiative
25 July 2011
The Singapore Hotel Association has teamed up with the National Environment Agency to launch a recycling and environmental initiative for hotels.
Called the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Programme for Hotels, the initiative aims to help hotels achieve better waste management and increase waste recycling rates. Currently, it is estimated that hotels in Singapore produce about 60,000 tonnes of solid waste a year and less than 10% of the waste is being recycled.
A voluntary commitment by hotels, the programme requires the hotel partners to set up a system to reduce solid waste, which entails the formation of a committee. The green committee will conduct waste audits, set waste reduction and recycling goals, and review existing practices.
“The 3R Programme for Hotels is a platform for the industry to share experiences and knowledge on waste minimisation and recycling. For a start, about 35% of SHA-member hotels have signed up for the programme and we hope to have more hotels coming onboard. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the hotel industry and galvanising efforts in reducing solid waste,” said Andrew Tan, CEO of National Environment Agency.
“Waste minimisation is not new to hotels. However, with the 3R Programme in place, it gives the process of solid waste minimisation a whole new dimension as it emphasises the involvement of all stakeholders, namely all levels of staff, hotel guests and the community,” added Margaret Heng, executive director of Singapore Hotel Association.
The Mandarin Orchard Singapore was recently announced as the winner of the 2011 Singapore Green Hotel Award, organized by the Singapore Hotel Association and supported by, among others, the National Environment Agency.
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The program seems very objective and doable. I've seen a lot of other places who ambiguously claim to be eco-friendly, but don't have the specific details of what it is they do, like I see here. I for one try my best to be careful about how much energy I use, I go to a trash removal Calgary company when there is too much stuff that I don't need, so if everyone took their part in this we would have a much easier life.