Hotel Engineering Notes- POLLUTION CONTROL AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

                       POLLUTION CONTROL AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Resource depletion is the biggest flaw of the hospitality industry in regards to environmental abuse. Water and petroleum aren't the only natural resources hotels use extensively, though they are the bigger ones. Consider construction and decorating materials, and furnishings too. The hospitality industry may not directly cause pollution, but it contributes to it in other areas, the areas where their goods are made, and along the way to delivery. More care needs to be taken with the purchasing of goods to minimize resource depletion. The issues of pollution include climate change, energy, water [resource sources and pollution], biodiversity and land use, chemicals and heavy metals, air pollution, waste management, ozone layer depletion, oceans and fisheries, and deforestation.

Global concerns related to the environment

Climate change and global warming , Ozone depletion , Demand for resources outstripping supply, Pollution, Landfill impacts, Acid rain.

	Key environmental metrics include: * energy: total used and renewable energy bought or used * water: total used and water pollution * air: greenhouse gas emissions, release of heavy metals and toxic          chemicals, and emission of particulates * waste: solid, recycled, and hazardous * compliance: notices of violations and fines or paid penalties.

 

The 12 Primary Wastestreams and Functions in the Hospitality Industry:

1. Landscaping and Landscaping Maintenance.

2. Conferences.

3 . Offices.

4 . Housekeeping.

5 . Food Services.

6. Facility Maintenance.

7. Indoor Air Pollution.

8. Used Refrigerants.

9. Trash Conservation.

10. Energy Conservation.

11. Water Conservation.

12. Vehicle Maintenance.

The hospitality industry is an interesting case in that it exposes many of the conflicts that arise when implementing environmental policies. First, many hotels and restaurants are situated in areas of outstanding natural beauty, in historic cities and in areas with a delicate ecological balance. The addition of new hospitality facilities may attract visitors to areas which already suffer from too much tourism. For this reason there are often serious planning constraints when developing a new hospitality facility. Second, many of the customers who seek hospitality services do so expecting to be pampered, with lashings of hot water, high-pressure showers, freshly laundered linen, an ample supply of towels, copious supplies of food and drink, the availability of swimming pools and saunas and the limousine to take them to the airport. Clearly, whatever is done to reduce waste can only be done either with the consent of the customers or in such a way that they do not notice any deterioration of service. Third, the customer visits the location of the hospitality operation, which is fixed by customers’ needs and therefore cannot always be sited where there will be minimized effect from traffic, cooking smells and the noise of the disco. This local environmental pollution may not be an issue on the scale of those considered by the international Rio Conference, but it does affect people’s attitudes towards the industry. The hospitality industry is not one which causes gross environmental pollution nor does it consume vast amounts of non-renewable resources and therefore it may not be in the front line for environmental concern. It is made up of a large number of small operations, each of which consumes relatively small amounts of energy, water, food, paper and other resources, and each of which adds only a small amount of pollution to the environment in terms of smoke, smell, noise and chemical pollutants.

 

 

 

                                                             GOOD EXAMPLES

	As an example of the case studies, one describes the Inter-Continental Hotel at Hyde Park Corner, which was able to reduce energy consumption from 870 kWh/m2/ annum to 575 kWh/m2/annum between 1980 and 1992, saving of 34 per cent. This was done through a mixture of methods including changing lighting, recovering heat from refrigeration equipment, energy management systems on boilers and staff awareness campaigns. Another example is the Forte Crest Hotel in West Yorkshire which converted to energy-efficient lighting to reduce energy costs by 45 per cent and replacement costs by 85 per cent.
		Taking food waste as an example, research in the late 1970s and early 1980s on food waste in UK hotel and restaurants indicated that 15.5 per cent of edible food was wasted. A similar figure for hospital catering departments was 30 per cent. These figures represent a high monetary value because of high value-added associated with the waste of prepared food. It also represents a waste of energy because the food has been transported, stored and cooked. Much of this waste can be controlled through sound management practices.

 

Hierarchy of waste minimization going from the most desirable form of disposal at the bottom, to the least desirable at the top: Landfilling– most damaging; Incinerate – recover energy content; Recycle – recover material for reuse; Reuse – reuse the material with no processing; Minimize – use minimum packaging, eliminate waste.

 

Most examples of successful environmental management are in the area of energy management, where there are clear motivations in terms of financial savings. A survey indicated that 33 per cent of hotel groups had invested in computerized energy management and/or property management systems, 30 per cent in heat recovery and 23 per cent in combined heat and power. In addition to energy consumption in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications, catering areas can also be prolific consumers of energy. Waste management and waste disposal has been another area of concern. The importance of differentiating between waste minimization and waste disposal management is critical in this area since it is much more effective to prevent waste in the first place than it is to manage the waste once it has been produced.

Other areas of concern have included the change from the use of CFCs in refrigeration equipment to new gases which will not damage the ozone layer.

Types of pollution in hotels:

1.                   Air pollution

2.                   Noise pollution

3.                   Water / liquid pollution

4.                   Chemical pollution

5.                   Thermal pollution

6.                   Radioactive pollution

7.                   Sullage / Sewage pollution

8.                   Soil / land pollution

9.                   Oil pollution

10.                Solid waste pollution.

Harmful and Hazardous discharges from hotels      Gases:- Greenhouse gases (eg. CO2), Ozone –depleting gases (CFCs),                    Acid Rain initiator (eg. SO2) Traffic fumes & noise                                                          Odours                                                                                          (Cooking & Lanudry) Noise of plant & equipment,                                                                     Hazardous chemicals Entertainment                                                          (e.g. cleaning materials, oils) Waste materials                                                         Waste water, liquids (landfill, incinerate, recycle)                           Thermal pollution                                                                             (hot water, plant  & equipment)

 

Internal Strategies:

Soil management: Soil erosion is possible at many resort sites and these needs to be minimized. Secondly, landfills and garbage fills have to be considered carefully due to the problem of extra garbage and to maintain hygienic conditions.

Waste management: Many times the resort throws away waste matter that can be recycled and used again. What policies are adopted by the resort for waste management need to be studied.

Energy efficiency: Most resorts have large expensive energy requirements for space heating and cooling systems. However, there are many options for conserving energy. Solar heating, proper insulation and simply reducing the thermostat settings can help conserve energy.  When guests leave rooms, resorts need to have automatic shut off of appliances with the exception of essential things like refrigerators, alarm clocks and other important devices. Daily washing of linen, tablecloths, flannels, sheets and towels takes up tremendous amount of energy. This can be minimized by the resort in several ways. Guest should also have the option of washing linen every other day.  Energy on lamps is another significant area. Introduction of fluorescent lamps as versus incandescent lamps can conserve a lot of energy.

Water:  The tourism and hospitality sector can be a cause of pollution by:

Disposal of water/waste through drains which are cracked or leaking;

Septic tanks, which, if not adequately maintained, may allow sewage to seep into water sources.

Swimming pool discharges that are not appropriately treated;

Use of detergents on the premises which may wash into the drains and leak, or that may be stored inappropriately, spill and enter the water;

Run-off from chemicals used on golf courses;

Inadequate storage of fertilisers/pesticides may spill and enter the groundwater; and

Drainage to local groundwater from impermeable surfaces e.g. car parks can contain oil etc. which may pollute the water.

Energy: The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement, whereby the main industrially developed countries committed, in 1997 to strategically reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions at National Level, as a non-competitive (industrially) approach to combating the global effects of ‘man-made’ climate change. The Protocol sets targets for each of the developed countries and economy-in-transition countries, with a view to reducing overall emissions of the six main greenhouse gases by at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012.

Waste:  Examples of solid waste generated by tourist facilities, hotels etc.

Accommodation Sector:

Newspaper and magazines;

Cleansing agent containers;

Flowers;

Plastic shampoo and cosmetic soap bottles;

Old towels, linens, bed sheets and furniture;

Paint and varnishes; and

Wastewater.

Food Services:

Cans, bottles and tins;

Food waste;

Product containers; and

Serviettes and straws.

Open Spaces and Grounds:

Plant trimmings;

Empty pesticide/fertilizer bottles and bags; and

Litter.

Pollution Acts and Rules in India: (Legal Requirements)

a)                   The air (prevention and control of) pollution act.

b)                   The air (prevention and control of) pollution rules.

c)                   The Environment Protection Act.

d)                   The Environment Protection Rules.

e)                   The water (protection and control of) pollution act.

f)                    The water (pollution) rules.

g)                   The public liability insurance act.

h)                   The public liability insurance rules.

Air pollution: One has to inhale pure, clean air, free from pollutants to survive. Minimum rate of fresh air for restaurants, dining halls is 25 m³ /head / hour. Fine particles of less than 15 microns can bypass the human body respiratory filters and penetrate into the lungs. The toxic substances could be Creosols, chlorinated benzenes, alkyl epoxide, paraffins, Nitro-benzenes, butadines etc.

The un-natural sources of air pollution are: Combustion of fuels and solid waste, emissions from vehicles, industrial effluents, pesticides, agricultural chemicals etc.

Quality of air inside the hotels: The quality of air inside the buildings is a combination of pollution from the outside air brought inside alongwith the ventilation air and the pollutants generated from sources / activities within the buildings. Proper ventilation is required to control the moisture / humidity, dispose of surplus heat, remove micro-organisms and remove odours / vapours / smoke. Control of pollutants can be done by installing filters (dust and particulate), water screens, cyclone separators etc.

Water pollution: The primary concern with water pollution is due to items that make the water non-potable. Sewage treatment, thermal discharges could have effect on the safe drinking water. Other sources of pollution are: Oil waste, drainage, swimming pools, industrial effluents, fertilizers etc. Control of water pollution can be done by sewage treatment plants, pre-treatment filtration, sedimentation, chlorination, coagulation, activated sludge process, membrane separation, aeration etc.

Noise Pollution: Noise may be defined as unwanted sound. The unit used for measuring sound is decibel, dB.

Effects of noise:

a)                   Noise annoys

b)                   Noise distracts

c)                   Noise disturbs

d)                   High decibel noise can lead to deafness

e)                   Creates uncomfortable living conditions

f)                    Reduces efficiency / productivity of individuals

g)                   Leads to physical fatigue

h)                   Leads to nervous strains, psychological disorders

i)                     Reduction in gastric activity, dizziness.

Solid Waste Disposal:

1.       Controlled land filling

2.       Disposal into sea

3.       Filling of low lying areas

4.       Mechanical composting

5.       Pulverising

6.       Compaction

7.       Incineration

8.       Pulping

	Acceptable noise levels 1. Small offices                    45 dB 2. Conference room            30 dB 3. Sleeping area                    30 dB 4. School                               30 dB 5. Restaurant                        45 – 55 dB