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UNIT 4: ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
• No other areas of the hotel are air-conditioned. Ceiling fans operate
day and night in public areas and restaurants.
• It is usual practice for the kitchen stoves to be turned on at the
beginning of the day and left on the whole day until the dinner service
is complete.
• There appear to be significant quantities of flash steam escaping from
the boilers.
• The refrigeration system in the cold rooms is often out of service.
• Stoves, boilers and washing machines are over 10 years old. Dishes are
washed by hand in tubs and buckets.
• There is no awareness of energy saving, how to lower energy use,
renewable energy, or of equipment maintenance and monitoring. Little
help is available from the national electricity company.
WASTE
• No waste is separated and all waste including food, kitchen, and
garden is sent for land filling. Old linen and uniforms are included in
the waste stream.
• Owing to problems with refrigeration in the cold rooms, leftover food
from the breakfast and barbecue buffets is not reused. Significant
quantities of food are therefore wasted.
• Paper napkins and tumblers, cocktail sticks, paper cups and glass
holders are the main sources of disposable waste. Plastic waste
includes packaging, food and cleaning products and chemical product
containers. All beverages are purchased in glass bottles, which can
be returned on a deposit refund scheme. However, no separate sorting
system is in place and glass bottles are also sent for land filling.
• Items with longer shelf life such as dry food, tins, stationery, office
supplies and cleaning supplies etc. are bought in bulk.
• There were some attempts to compost kitchen and garden waste.
However, owing to poor maintenance and the contamination of the
compost heap (by plastic, glass, animal fats and meats included in
the compost), it began to attract rodents and birds, and gave rise to
unpleasant odours. The effort was therefore abandoned.
• A significant volume of paper is used in the back office.
• No attempts have been made to reduce or reuse waste. There are
two recycling companies based near the airport, but they have not
been contacted for information on and assistance with the collection
of waste for recycling.
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PURCHASING
• All items, including fresh produce, are sourced directly from the capital
city 400 km away and transported by truck twice a week. No attempts
have been made to source goods locally or use the produce of local
farmers, expect for game meat.
• Despite the availability of a good selection of nationally-produced
alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, preference is given to imported
products from Europe, the USA or South Africa.
• Chemical cleaners, non-degradable detergents and pesticides are
freely used all over the property.
• Stationery is printed on imported bleached gloss paper.