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UNIT 4: ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
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How can the Separation of Waste be Easily Incorporated into
Hospitality Operations?
• Place separate waste containers in rooms and invite guests to use the
containers as labelled;
• Ask guests to sort out waste such as batteries for separate collection
and disposal;
• Install housekeeping carts with separate waste containers;
• Place separate waste containers in kitchens, other F&B outlets,
housekeeping and administration areas;
• Place bulk containers for separate waste in an appropriate back
office area;
• Train employees in all departments to separate waste.
In the case of hazardous waste such as solvents, pool chemicals, paints, chemical
pesticides and other such products, the local authority’s disposal stipulations
should be followed. Hygiene and food safety codes provide guidance for food and
packaging waste disposal, which will facilitate waste management.
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Some Facts About Composting
Composting is the use of micro-organisms to break down organic waste
(vegetable clippings, leaves, seeds, skins, shells, rinds, garden waste, etc)
into inorganic form, which can then be used to improve the nutrient and water
retention capacity of soil.
Composting techniques range from simple backyard heaps to in-vessel
systems.
As composting waste is wet, backyard heaps need to be layered with dry bulking
materials such as wood, sawdust, hay, leaves or shredded paper. Commercial
compost activators can also be used. A small amount of nitrogen fertiliser can
be added to increase energy content and speed up decomposition. Compost
heaps need to be kept moist and thoroughly mixed to ensure waste breaks
down rapidly. An unturned pile will become anaerobic (lack oxygen) and smell.
In-vessel systems allow waste to be composted in enclosed vessels, reducing
composting time to less than 30 days. As the composting takes place in
enclosed vessels, they can be installed indoors (in kitchens and corridors, for
example) or outside without the problems of smell, space or leakage. These
systems have loading and screening devices, computerised or mechanical
aeration systems, and mixers to turn the piles.
Most composting systems recommend that only 15% of the waste heap consist
of meat; in-vessel systems have partly overcome this disadvantage.
Good Practice Tip
Adding too much bulking material can create a low-energy compost mixture,
which takes a long time to break down.