Environmental Fines Checking-in to a Hotel Near You

The hospitality industry was recently introduced to one of the first of what we believe to be many environmental fines to target the industry. Ritz-Carlton, one of the luxury brands under the Marriott flag, was ordered to pay more than half million dollars in fines due to unlawful disposal of hazardous waste.

Now we aren’t talking about barrels of nuclear waste being dumped into the Pacific Ocean. The hotel brand allegedly illegally disposed of hazardous waste in the trash and illegally transported it to local landfills that were not permitted to receive such waste. The waste that was found to be disposed of illegally were aerosols, batteries, cleaning agents, electronics, flammable liquids and other “reactive, toxic and corrosive materials.” Those materials could be anything from used gel chafing fuel cans that your Food and Beverage team can be discarding to used cleaning products and TV remote batteries from the housekeeping teams.

You might be asking yourself, “How do I make sure my hotel company isn’t next?”. Start with conducting a waste audit for each property and the results will provide you with a benchmark of your current processes. Having this knowledge will allow you to identify inefficiencies within your waste program and understand where your opportunities are for improvement. In addition of understanding what waste is being disposed, you can also evaluate the size of container that you have at each location and adjust accordingly as needed. This can result in monthly savings by downsizing your waste container in combination of sorting and disposing of your hazardous waste properly. These results can also lead to additional operational efficiencies throughout your properties.

These fines show that ignorance of EPA rules will lead to an additional focus on the hospitality industry. If you were to look at previous hazardous waste fines issued, research will show that many companies in the retail markets were targeted one-by-one over the past decade which resulted in settlements for over twenty million dollars. As the hospitality industry continues recovery from the pandemic, half a million-dollar fines are not something in the budget for many hoteliers. As hotel guests think sustainable travel is vital, being transparent of your waste programs will have a positive influence on potential guests. The benefits from consulting with a partner to establish a world class hazardous waste management program will result in limiting potential violations and fines, protecting brand image, and boosting your company’s environmental sustainability program are just a few reasons.