Laatste update: 02/03/2026

Waste management in the lodging sector follows the waste hierarchy: the priority is prevention, followed by reuse, recycling and, as a final step, responsible disposal. By addressing waste structurally, a lodging establishment reduces its carbon footprint and operational costs.

1. Our Objectives: What do we want to achieve?

Waste Prevention: preventing waste through conscious purchasing and eliminating single-use products.
Maximum Recycling: Ensuring that residual waste is minimized through strict source separation.
Elimination of Single-Use Plastics: Completely phasing out single-use plastic items such as straws, cups and individual containers.
Reducing Food Waste: Implementing a plan to minimize food surpluses in the kitchen and at the buffet.

2. Measuring is Knowing

Without data, it is impossible to set targeted reduction goals.

Recording: The total amount of waste is best recorded monthly, preferably by waste fraction.
Units: Waste is measured in kilograms (kg) or tons and normalized to kg per guest night to identify trends.
Monitoring: Specific attention is paid to large streams such as food waste, textiles and packaging materials.

3. Practical Methods and Resources.

Prevention and Procurement

Disposable items: Do not use disposable dishes or cutlery except for safety reasons (e.g., at the pool).
Dispensers: Replace individual soaps and shampoo bottles with refillable dispensers in all bathrooms.
Packaging: Limit monopacks at breakfast (such as sugar, jam or butter) to an absolute minimum (no more than 5 kinds).
Suppliers: Make arrangements for reusable transport packaging (such as crates) to be returned to the supplier.

Sorting and Recycling

Fractions: Sort waste into at least three fractions in accordance with legislation (e.g., paper/cardboard, glass, PMD); residual waste does not count as a fraction for this purpose.
Infrastructure: Provide clear sorting bins in both staff areas and public areas.
Instructions: Use simple pictograms or illustrations at waste receptacles to prevent mis-sorting by guests.

Food and Organic Waste

Composting: Process organic waste (GFT) on site or have it collected for biogas production….
Food waste: Adjust portion sizes, use smaller plates at buffets and work with an “a la carte” system to reduce surpluses.

4. The Financial Impact

Lower Disposal Costs: In most regions, the disposal of sorted waste is cheaper than that of unsorted residual waste.
Purchasing advantage: Bulk purchasing for dispensers and avoiding individually packaged products lowers the unit price of consumables.
Efficiency:
- Digital administration saves significantly on paper and printing costs.
- Dispensers reduce operational costs in room maintenance

5. Planetary Frontiers and Social Impact.

Your waste policy contributes to the bigger picture:

UN SDGs: Direct contribution to SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), SDG 14 (Living in water – reducing plastic soup) and SDG 15 (Living on land).
Planetary Boundaries: Waste management limits the introduction of new entities (such as microplastics and chemical pollutants) into the biosphere.
Social Minimum Limits: Contributes to local public health by preventing pollution of the immediate environment.

6. More Information & Tools

This guide is a living document. By working with local partners and sharing experiences, we are building journeys to tomorrow together.

Collective intelligence, stronger than artificial intelligence !

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