SEATTLE—The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle, a 450-room AAA Five Diamond property, is taking a big bite out of its waste hauling costs thanks to an aggressive recycling program that includes composting and the occasional dumpster dive to analyze what exactly is being thrown away. Waste minimization is top of mind, even when making purchasing decisions. The end result at the end of each day is that a significant chunk of what used to be bound for the landfill is now being recycled. The luxury hotel stepped up its recycling efforts about a year ago when it began working with Eirik O’Neal, an environmental consultant with Corporate Recycling Services, which is based in University Place, Wash.

NEW YORK—Perf Go Green Holdings, Inc. (“Perf Go Green”), a marketer and distributor of biodegradable plastics, has completed the company’s first major commercial conversion with the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York City.

BOULDER, COLO.—Sustainable Cards announced that its wood key cards will debut in Denver hotels during the Democratic National Convention. Sustainable Cards has partnered with its manufacturer, CPI Card Group, to donate more than 70,000 biodegradable cards in an effort to reduce the waste created by traditional plastic key cards.

GRESHAM, ORE.—BioGreen Products has introduced a line of biodegradable garbage bags in 8-, 13-, 30-, 33- and 45-gallon size. The bags utilize a new technology and come in sizes that will work for in-room waste baskets all the way up to containers in back-of-the-house areas.

IRVING, TEXAS—Omni Hotels is hanging up on phone books for good. The luxury hotel brand announced that it will immediately recycle its current stock of approximately 30,000 phone books and eliminate future use of phone books at all of its properties. “Saying goodbye to phone books means Omni Hotels will preserve approximately 217,200 pounds of paper each year,” said Richard Maxfield, senior vice president of operations for Omni Hotels. “Our goal is to preserve more than 18,000 trees over the next decade. We feel good about the impact this initiative will have on the environment.”

BROADVIEW, ILL.—Air Cycle Corp. has developed Online Recycling Reports, an innovative solution to identify, track, review, and communicate lamp, ballast, battery and electronic recycling totals for any organization. Air Cycle Corp. has already established itself in the recycling services market with the EasyPak pre-paid recycling container program.

NATIONAL REPORT—Defining what is a “green” amenity is getting easier but fuzzy definitions of “pure,” “organic,” “natural,” and “biodegradable” can make the purchasing process for conscientious hoteliers and innkeepers a confusing one. The terms can apply to not only what is in the amenity bottle but also the bottle itself. An increasing number of amenity companies are offering greener amenity options. While that is good for the lodging industry and good for the environment, weeding through the terminology and what one amenity vendor described as “marketing hype” can be challenging.

IRVINE, CALIF.—Food Recycle Science continues its innovations in food waste recycle technologies with the introduction of the new eCorect system—a high-speed food waste recycling machine, through a distribution partnership with Lancaster, Pa.-based Somat Co., a division of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Company.

BOSTON—When you host the annual conference of a national environmental organization, there is a good chance you will make some changes to your operations—whether to impress or to meet the demands of the group you are hosting. That is what happened at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel earlier this year when it hosted the Ceres annual conference. Ceres is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. According to David Keamy, director of sales and marketing at the 456-room property, Ceres event organizers required that the hotel offer green programs such as recycling.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes HD Supply Hospitality Solutions as a Founding Sponsor. HD Supply is committed to doing business in a manner that is responsible to its associates, customers and the environment.