EFFICIENCY OF HOTEL RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Open Access
- Author:
- Vogelbacker, Tim
- Area of Honors:
- Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- David Allen Cranage, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Breffni M Noone, Thesis Honors Advisor
David Allen Cranage, Thesis Supervisor - Keywords:
- recycling
hotels - Abstract:
- In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 64,300 hotels were operating in the United States. These hotels are contributing to the growing environmental crisis in the United States. The United States faces environmental issues that range from energy efficiency to waste management. Legislation has been passed at the state level in order to reduce the Lodging Industry’s contribution to these environmental problems. In Pennsylvania, the state government passed Pennsylvania’s ACT 101 (Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act) which requires “Commercial, municipal and institutional establishments within a mandated municipality recycle aluminum, high-grade office paper and corrugated paper in addition to other materials chosen by the municipality.” The act also mandates that these establishments recycle at least 25% of the waste generated at their property. This study investigated 8 hotels and the relationship between the size of each property and the amount of waste and recyclables produced. The study also analyzed the efficiency of each recycling program and the financial impact of a recycling program for the hotel. Our results showed that there was a relationship between size of the hotel and the amount of waste produced and that the hotels were falling considerably short of the 25% benchmark set by Pennsylvania law makers.