Waste Reduction
Did you know that every year in the United States enough paper is thrown away to make a 12 foot wall from New York to California? Recycling of every ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water. Since one-fifth of all wood harvested in the world ends up in paper it just makes sense to recycle and conserve this valuable resource.
- Extensive cardboard recycling program in place, reducing total waste. Last year, Gaylord Palms recycled more than 100 tons of cardboard, or the equivalent weight of about 25 adult elephants. This saved more than 900 cubic yards of landfill space. Recycling corrugated cardboard cuts the emissions of sulfur dioxide in half and uses about 25 percent less energy than making cardboard from virgin pulp.
- Plastic recycling program in place (and soon to be expanded) in public areas and back-of-house areas, reducing waste. According to the National Resources Defense Council, it takes 70 percent less energy to recycle plastic versus using raw materials to manufacture.
- Office paper recycling program in place (and soon to be expanded) in back-of-house and business center, reducing waste.
- Gaylord Palms is currently developing a newspaper recycling program for guest participation, reducing waste.
- The hotel is purchasing post-consumer recycled content for targeted paper products, reducing waste. As the "green lodging" movement grows, more products utilizing recycled contents are expected to be available, giving the hotel more opportunities to make a difference in the area of purchasing.
- The hotel participates in bulk purchasing, reduced packaging and manufacturer take-back initiatives, reducing waste. For instance, by switching to a bulk dilution control system for our cleaning products, we were able to substantially reduce packaging.
- Ink cartridge and toner cartridge recycling program at on-site business center, reducing waste. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills, and conserves about a half-gallon of oil.
- Gaylord Palms is now transitioning to recycled paper for its printing needs. And for a good reason! It takes 64 percent less energy and 58 percent less water to manufacture paper from recycled stock.
- Gaylord's retail partner, The Paradies Shops, has a Read & Return Program allowing travelers to buy a book, read it, and then return it within six months to receive 50 percent of their money back. The program is available at 500 stores in more than 60 airports and hotels, and is good on hardcover or paperback books. Books are then resold at half price or donated to a local charity.
- Gaylord Palms is going "paperless" whenever possible. For instance:
- The Sales department process has been changed to electronically store client files, instead of printing hard copies to store in paper files.
- Convention Services is providing client materials, including interactive floor plans of the meeting space, in electronic form via Gaylord Hotels' "MyMeetingPlanner" website.
- Accounting now provides detailed meeting-specific invoices – sometimes large enough to fill an entire binder – on a single compact disc.
- Payroll now offers an option to view pay statements online, eliminating the need to print a pay statement for every STAR employee.
- Human Resources posts internal manuals and similar materials online.
Eco-Logical Initiatives at Gaylord Palms
