The demand for green meeting space is likely to increase in the near future. Westfields Marriott International Conference Center Mr. Huppman discussed the challenges and rewards of establishing a successful hotel recycling program. Westfields began the program about 10 years ago in response to Fairfax County recycling requirements for large businesses. It has expanded to include office paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, steel, aluminum, and plastic. The hotel developed a system to reuse shipping pallets to eliminate wood waste.
Guests also have optional sheet and towel washing service.
The program is profiled in the Recycling Guidebook for the Hospitality Industry. A major challenge to the program has been glass recycling. Westfields had been recycling glass containers until recently, when the recycling company said that breakage of the mixed colored glass was too high to allow effective recycling. This change put 75-80 tons per year back into the waste stream. The hotel is hoping to find a solution that will allow it to recycle the glass again.