“The Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association (GHTA) organised a workshop on solid waste management for its members at True Blue Bay Resort on 22 May 2015.” The volunteer-driven workshop was hosted by Industrial and Environmental Engineer, Silke Rothenberger who has 15 years of experience working in water, waste and sanitation around the world. The well-attended event welcomed 26 participants from 11 member companies (hotels, restaurants, tour operators), who wanted to know how GHTA members could become a part of the solution to Grenada’s waste management woes.
“Grenada’s is actively working on developing a new landfill, however at the current rate that Grenada generates garbage, the new landfill will only last 7 years” said Silke Rothenberger, Environmental Engineer, to emphasize the importance of reducing waste.
The GHTA Members are committed to doing their part: 50% of the waste volume generated by hotels can be reduced by practicing the simple Reduce–Reuse–Recycle principles. Participants learned about how to reduce waste by making sound choices on what they chose to buy for their hotels — such as avoidance of Styrofoam containers, cloth napkins, and disposable shampoo bottles.
Recycling options were also explored in partnership with a local business, Spice Isle Recycling for cleaned and sorted materials such as Aluminum, PET (1) Plastic, Machine oil, vegetable oil, tetra packs and corrugated cardboard.
Participants also learned how composting can help reduce waste, while also providing fertilizer for maintaining gardens.
The outcome of this meeting was the formation of a Go Pure – Green Action Group consisting of one person per GHTA Member business, that will meet again the first week of June. This group will work together to reduce waste in their businesses. Immediate action was also taken in the meeting to set up a collection schedule for cleaned and sorted recyclables from Tourism businesses.
Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association
