Home > Browse > Green Philosophy > Recycling
Wet Waste (Food) Disposal
We employ highly creative wet waste (food) disposal methods. We provide some of our wet waste free of charge to enterprising villagers, who use it on their farms. This approach benefits both the hotel and the villagers, and also helps to protect the environment.
Solid Waste Recycling
All solid waste generated from our hotel is carefully sorted at our recycling centre into groups like glass, plastic, metals, wood and paper. We provide these materials at a nominal fee to villagers who use them in small cottage industries. For instance the coconut shells we discard are used by a disabled person to make charcoal, which we purchase back for use at the hotel. Items such as soap and candles are recycled for the same purpose. Large plastic bins are given to schools to use as garbage bins in classrooms – this also teaches school children to reuse plastic items. Plastic items are also crushed and exported to countries such as New Zealand for recycling. As some of the people who purchase our solid waste are disabled persons, we also perform a valuable community service in supporting the under privileged. A great demand has been generated among the villagers for our solid waste as we provide it at such a low price.
Waste Water Recycling
Our waste water recycling plant is the most sophisticated system of its kind in use by a hotel anywhere in Sri Lanka. It recycles 70,000 litres of sewage per day. An elaborate purification process ensures that the water coming out of the system is clean enough to use in gardening. The dried sludge, treated to ensure it is safe, is used to make organic fertilizer, which we sell at a nominal fee. Wet sludge is used in our compost pits to make 100% natural fertilizer by combining with leaves and other natural materials. Our purification processes are regularly checked by scientists from the University of Peradeniya, to ensure compliance with the highest possible standards.
7R Recycling & Conservation System
We have graduated from a “Three R” to a “Seven R” recycling and conservation system:
1. Reject
• Many bio non degradable packaging material
• Many plastic items
2. Reduce
• Consumption of energy, “switching off policy”
• Consumption of fresh water,
• “closing tap policy”
• Reducing flushing system capacity
• Immediate repair of leaks
• Rainwater harvesting
• Packaging material at purchase point and by purchasing in bulk
• Transport with better logistics
• Exhaust emissions by switching off engines of stationary vehicles
• Polythene material
3. Reuse
• One side written paper
• Shampoo containers in rooms
• Plastic liquid containers distributed to the community
• Empty clay pots of curd for road maintenance and building walls
• Wet garbage as food for farm animals
• Cardboard
• Glass Bottles
4. Reclaim
• Sludge from sewage and wastewater to make compost manure
• Fruit peel for jam and chutney manufacture
• Half-burnt candles for reuse as wax for natural torches
• Waste heat from chillers and boilers
• Recovered flooring timber for bed panelling
5. Repair
• All broken steel and wooden furniture
6. Replace
• All possible plastic items with biodegradable material
• Detergents with boron and phosphorus free items
• Oil based paints with water-based emulsions
• Equipment using CFC’s with ozone friendly technology
• Tungsten filament bulbs with CFL s and fluorescents
7. Recycle
• Waste water
• Waste cooking oil
• Waste engine oil
• Waste paper with elephant dung
• Plastic waste
• Metal cans
• Scrap metal
• Glass scrap
• PET bottles
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|