Bournemouth’s Marsham Court Hotel has increased its monthly recycling by three tonnes on last year, thanks to the introduction of a simple jute bag.
The family-run hotel in Russell Cotes Road installed a reusable recycling bag in all of its 95 guest rooms in June after observing a growing number of guests dropping their recycling into collection bins in reception.
Marsham Court MD Rosie Radwell said: “As a business we have been working hard to get the amount of waste we send to landfill to a minimum and our guests have shown us that they are also keen to do their bit.
“When we introduced recycling bins in our reception area last year we found people were actively bringing their recycling to us. So we added additional recycling bins to all floors.
“We have now taken this to another level by producing a jute recycling sack for each room which enables us to collect cardboard, paper and plastic on a daily basis.
“We recycled 86.08 per cent (nine tonnes) of our waste in July 2019, compared to 73 per cent (six tonnes) in the same period last year and we hope this figure will continue to grow.”
The average UK hotel guest generates about 1kg (2lb) of waste per night, more than half of it in paper, plastic and cardboard.
Marsham Court guests simply hang their recycling bags on their doors each morning for collection.
They are also provided with the hotel’s recycling statistics by Bournemouth-based Waste Management Facilities, in a monthly e-shot.
Environmentally damaging soap waste is also being expunged by the Marsham Court thanks to a partnership with ethical brand CLARITY & Co.
As an alternative to miniature plastic bottles the hotel provides refillable dispensers of CLARITY & Co’s Juniper & Seaweed shampoo & bodywash, which is produced by blind and disadvantaged workers, in all its guest bedrooms.
CLARITY & Co’s unwrapped naked soap bars have also recently been introduced, along with stickers explaining how the enterprise is tackling disability under-employment in the UK.
Rosie continued: “Tiny shampoo bottles might seem luxurious, but according to cleanconscience.org.uk, a shocking 200 million soap and shower gel miniatures are dumped from UK hotels into landfill each year.
“All our guests are offered the chance to use the CLARITY products in return for a £1 charge on their bill, which is reinvested straight back into the charity.
“The Marsham Court is incredibly proud to be the first three-star hotel in the country to use these Clarity & Co products and we hope other hospitality providers will now follow suit.”