We were treated to pastries and coffee, a short screen show and then taken on a tour of the hotel, back and front office. This is the largest hotel in Cape Town with 536 rooms. After the tour we were enjoyed a finger lunch with some of the executives.
At the kitchen area our guide told us they were "very proud of their waste area", which we couldn't really understand until we went in and saw their operation.
All appropriate waste food is processed through a worm farm. Two large baths are set up in their refuse section (which I must add was spic and span). The worm juice is used in the hotel gardens or given to their staff to use in their home gardens.
All recycled materials are sorted and collected weekly.
As well as these obvious things was something that is even more noteworthy - once used soaps and shampoos/conditioners are donated to an organization that works with street children.
All towels or bedding that is not perfect is sent to homeless shelters.
I know we went for so much more - to open the world of work to our children - but this has left an lasting impression on me.
Well done to this hotel who in a year has gone from nothing to dealing with 60% of their waste! This is the highest benchmark for a city based hotel on our continent!
