Waste problems bring hotels, NGOs together

Waste problems bring hotels, NGOs together

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Hotels and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) are cooperating to save the environment of the paradise
island of Bali.

The rapid development of tourism in Bali has caused serious
environmental problems to the once beautiful and serene island.

The operation of hotels, restaurants and other tourist
facilities draws huge foreign exchange and provide job
opportunities to the locals, yet it also creates troubles.

Mountainous piles of plastic, paper and other solid and liquid
waste dumped by hotels and restaurants must be managed properly.

Some hotels have set up a cooperation with an environmental
foundation, the Wisnu Foundation, and a waste-treatment company,
the UD Jimbaran Lestari, to deal with the waste problems using
cheap and environmentally friendly methods.

"Our concept emphasizes waste as a resource instead of waste
as waste," said Suarnatha, a staff member of the Wisnu
Foundation.

Currently, the foundation is jointly working with UD Jimbaran
Lestari and several hotels in Bali, including the Bali Inter-
Continental, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton Nusa Indah,
Sheraton Laguna, Bali-Hyatt, Holiday Inn Resort Bali Hai, Oberoi,
Hard Rock Beach Club, Hilton and Sanur Beach Hotel.

The foundation is also active in training and hosting
workshops for small-scale waste-treatment companies and staff of
hotels and restaurants who want to learn about this method.

"The foundation has provided us with knowledge and the latest
information on effective waste-treatment management," said Ni
Made Seni, director of UD Jimbaran Lestari.

Every day, UD Jimbaran Lestari employs six trucks to transport
waste and garbage from the hotels to the company's 8,000 square-
meter dumping site in Jimbaran.

At the site, 44 employees sort the dry waste from the wet.
They also put aside items such as cardboard boxes, aluminum cans,
plastics and others, which can be recycled.

They later deliver the items to be recycled to several
companies in Jakarta and Surabaya (East Java).

"We often find reusable goods and return them to the hotels,"
explained Seni.

Wet waste is delivered to several farms, while dry leaves and
twigs are composted. The company is able to produce three tons of
compost a month, which is returned to the hotels to fertilize
their gardens of various plants and flowers.

The method can reduce the amount of waste to 40 percent of the
previous amount. About 60 percent of the processed waste can
still be used by hotels or other industries.

"We can recycle 53 percent of the wet waste, while we can
process 68 percent of the dry waste," explained Yoga Atmaja, a
staff member of the Wisnu Foundation.

The hotels have worked hard to arouse their staff's
environmental consciousness and to launch more environmentally
friendly hotel-operating systems.

Tya Singgih, the communications manager of Bali Inter-
Continental, said the hotel was committed to improving its waste
management system and other energy saving efforts.

The 425-room Bali Inter-Continental is one of the first hotels
which set up a joint agreement with the Wisnu Foundation.

"In purchasing food and beverages, we also decided to use less
plastic bags to prevent a lot of waste," said Tya.

To clean the beach at the back of the hotel, two cows, Dayang
I and Dayang II, are ready to replace the tractor.

"We use the cows to prevent oil spills from polluting the
beach area," she explained.

In cooperation with the Wisnu Foundation and local
communities, the Bali Inter-Continental is also involved in the
preservation of green turtles, a regreening program and
environmental education for 1000 school students at 13 elementary
schools in the Jimbaran area.

Currently, there are 1,022 hotels in Bali producing at least
168.7 cubic meters of solid and liquid waste every day.

It seems Bali needs more foundations, hotel management and
individuals to set up a joint cooperation to deal with waste and
environmental problems.

The environmentally friendly waste treatment package costs
only Rp 1000 (15 U.S. cents) per hotel room. It may not be so
expensive if we think about protecting the environment.