BENEFITS

According to Joel S. Hirschorn, the author of The Greening of American Business: Making Bottom Line Sense of Environmental Responsibility, one of the challenges facing the hospitality industry is "learning how to accurately and comprehensively understand-not only qualitatively, but also quantitatively--the whole range of direct and indirect, short and long term benefits from waste reduction".

In addition to reduced operating expenses there are indirect benefits associated with recycling programs in the hospitality industry. Some of the benefits include:

1. An improved view of the company's product or services. More and more customers are choosing to patronize those businesses that function in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

2. An improved view of the company's social responsibility. Social responsibility and commitment can become a part of a business' image. That image reflects the needs, concerns and issues that are important to the customer. The Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel for example, have been known for their "Save the Planet" theme.

3. Free advertising and public relations publicity through positive newspaper, magazine, and other media coverage. Recycling is relatively new in the hotel industry. As a result, increasingly more attention is received from the media about hotel waste reduction and recycling programs. Positive publicity can do more for a business' image than a well planned advertising campaign.

4. Improved industry competitiveness and increased profits. Savings from avoided waste hauling fees are immediately realized and can be reinvested to make the hotel or restaurant more competitive.

5. Decreased operational and management costs. Money, time, and labor spent managing waste can be reduced when the waste generated is minimized.

6. Cost savings. Garbage disposal is a cost center, just like food and labor costs. Ken Teeters, former Harrah's of Las Vegas hotel executive and current professor in the UNLV Hotel College says about hotel recycling, "recycling cuts costs by reducing landfill charges. It's not a profit center: its a cost avoidance center".

The most attractive benefit and largest incentive for implementing a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program is the cost avoidance that results from reducing the amount of trash for disposal. For restaurants and smaller hotel properties that do not generate a large amount of waste, recycling may not be economically efficient because costs of recycling are compared to costs of disposal. However, for hotels that generate large quantities of waste, the savings from recycling can be substantial. Large hotels have the highest quantities of waste, and consequently the highest waste hauling fees. The more materials removed from the waste and diverted for recycling the larger the costs savings, as recyclable materials are hauled for minimal or no fee.