“We were recycling ninjas.” That is how Kathy Mantz described herself, her associates at Waste Management, and the events team at Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, after Waste Management and Casa Marina pulled off a rare zero waste event at Casa Marina in Key West, Fla. earlier this month. The occasion was the Seventh Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit. The attendance at the event was 435.
For those not familiar with the criterion for a zero waste event, Mantz, Government Affairs Manager for Waste Management, says, “If 90 percent or more of the material can be diverted away from the landfill, it can be considered a zero waste event.” While reaching zero waste was a first for Casa Marina, it was not for Waste Management. “We also have the Waste Management Phoenix Open as a zero waste event,” Mantz says.
Getting to zero waste was a lot of work for both Waste Management and Casa Marina. Leading up to the event, careful purchasing planning was done to minimize waste. Casa Marina personnel were meticulous about keeping event food materials separate from any other food materials. Waste Management staff helped to make sure recyclables and compostables were going into the right containers and weighed everything throughout the day. “We were on-site with our team at 6 a.m. and were there until midnight,” Mantz says.
To ensure staff followed proper procedures, extra signage was placed in the kitchen and service areas. Alex Beaumont, Casa Marina Chef, said he had zero resistance from his staff, adding that they are used to recycling at home. “The staff got into it,” Beaumont says. “What we found was how easy it is to take things to the next level.”
Facilities Conveniently Available
Key to the success of the event was having Waste Management facilities available. “Waste Management is the service provider in the lower Keys,” Mantz says. “We manage the transfer stations. We own the organics facility. We had the ability to manage the materials during and after the event.”
The end result of everyone’s efforts was not a bit of waste going to the landfill. At total of 90.3 percent (1,713 pounds) of all waste was recycled. Traditional recyclables (431 pounds)—including cardboard, paper, and plastic items and aluminum and steel cans—were processed at Waste Management’s Reuter Recycling Facility in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Organic material, or food scraps (1,282 pounds), were recycled at the company’s Okeechobee (Fla.) Organics Recycling Facility and turned into compost. The remaining 9.7 percent of waste was processed at a Wheelabrator waste-to-energy facility that produced renewable energy in the form of electricity.
For Beaumont and his team, the zero waste event was a good lesson in what can be done more in the future. He told me he intends to pursue more zero waste events in the coming year. Casa Marina offers meeting professionals sustainable choices as part of Hilton Worldwide’s Meet with Purpose program.
A big congratulations to Waste Management and Casa Marina for setting and reaching what they learned was a very feasible goal.
Have you organized or participated in a zero waste event? I would love to learn about it. I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com, or by phone at (813) 510-3868.
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