Hotel Waste Management: Strategies for a Greener Hospitality Sector

Hotel waste management is a structured approach aimed at handling, reducing, and recovering the waste generated within an establishment. This article explores its importance, the key components of an effective plan, common waste sources, improvement steps, best practices, industry challenges, and concrete methods of waste reduction.

What is Hotel Waste Management?

It includes the collection, sorting, treatment, and responsible disposal or recovery of all types of waste produced: food scraps, paper, plastic, textiles, hazardous or sanitary waste.
The goal is to minimize volumes, promote recycling and composting, and comply with health and environmental regulations.

Today, some hotels are implementing compostable and traceable collection systems, suitable for organic waste and high-traffic areas, using biodegradable bags made in Switzerland.

Why Is It Essential?

Waste management helps reduce pollution, control treatment costs, and meet the growing expectations of environmentally conscious travelers.
It is also becoming a strategic lever to comply with regulations and meet ESG goals set by hotel groups.

Using bio-based, plastic-free packaging and bags designed for selective collection helps comply with local environmental frameworks while aligning with international sustainability standards.

What Does a Waste Management Plan Include?

Audit & Monitoring

The establishment must conduct regular audits to identify the types and quantities of waste generated in each department (kitchen, rooms, events...).

Sorting at the Source

Color-coded and clearly marked bins should be placed in all areas. Sorting must include:

• organic waste

• plastics

• paper

• textiles

• WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment)

• hazardous products

Compostable bags, compatible with Swiss infrastructure, can support proper waste flow separation.

Staff Training

Teams must receive ongoing training on sorting procedures, the environmental impact of waste, and best practices for daily routines.

Guest Awareness

Informing guests via in-room signage or digital channels helps involve them in the process (e.g. reusing towels, sorting their waste).
Some hotels even provide sustainable products in their rooms, such as compostable, QR-traceable European wood fiber bags, to reinforce the message.

Local Partnerships

Working with certified recyclers or composting facilities ensures that sorted waste is effectively recovered.
In some regions, collaborations with local farms help close the loop.

Certain Swiss operators offer a complete logistics chain, from collection to organic recovery, in partnership with agricultural producers.

Performance Indicators

Monitoring tools can track volumes generated, sorted, or composted and provide clear KPIs per occupied room or by department.
Some systems integrate traceability tools to document the origin and end-of-life of packaging or other materials used.

Continuous Improvement

Effective plans evolve: by analyzing audit data and feedback, hotels can adapt their practices, adopt innovations, or revise purchasing policies.

New bio-based materials, sometimes developed in partnership with research institutes, are now available to replace plastic items in food service or hospitality operations.

Main Sources of Waste in Hotels

• Food waste: kitchen scraps, buffet leftovers, expired items

• Paper & cardboard: printed materials, supplier packaging

• Plastics: bottles, plastic wrap, flacons, single-use packaging
  → Switching to compostable or reusable containers can significantly reduce non-recyclable volumes

• Glass & metals: jars, cans, bottles

• Textiles: sheets, towels, uniforms

• Hazardous waste: cleaning products, bulbs, batteries

• Guest amenities: soaps, partially used flacons

• E-waste: screens, phones, outdated devices

• Green waste: lawn clippings, leaves, garden trimmings

• Construction waste: renovation materials, wood, paint

Key Steps to Improve Waste Management

• Conduct an initial audit

• Set measurable goals (e.g. –30% food waste in one year)

• Install clear sorting infrastructure

• Implement waste flow monitoring
  → Combining these tools with traceable packaging enables a circular view of products – from origin to end-of-life

• Train staff and raise guest awareness
  → Reusable and compostable bags with a low water footprint can be distributed to teams or guests to encourage responsible behavior

• Work with local partners

• Analyze, adapt, and innovate

Best Practices from the Sector

• Smart food waste tracking: AI tools can reduce losses by up to 70%

• Replacing single-use flacons: refillable dispensers become standard

• Recycling used soaps: organizations collect and redistribute these items

• Eco-hotel certifications: use of LED lighting, non-toxic cleaning products, composting systems

• Some hotels go further by choosing locally made, compostable, traceable materials, such as low-water-impact wood fiber bags

Challenges Faced by Hoteliers

• Limited access to recovery infrastructure

• High initial implementation costs

• Resistance to change from users

• Difficulties in data tracking

• Evolving environmental regulations

→ A good understanding of the local regulatory context and proven solutions helps overcome these challenges.

Reducing Waste at the Source

• Responsible purchasing: choose reusable formats, bulk options, and suppliers that avoid over-packaging

• Plastic-free, organically recoverable packaging can eliminate certain waste streams at the source

• Menu planning: avoid food surplus

• Multi-use & reusable products: limit disposable items

• Guest engagement: reuse of linen, waste sorting
  → A zero-waste welcome kit, including for example a reusable compostable bag, can encourage guests to take part

Conclusion

Waste management is a major lever to reduce the environmental impact of hotels, control costs, engage both staff and guests, and stand out in the marketplace.
By adopting a circular approach—centered on innovation, local collaboration, and responsible product choices—establishments can transform their practices and become drivers of positive change.

Compostable, traceable, and Europe-made solutions are now available to support this transition toward more sustainable hospitality.