Not in My Backyard

I have a friend who thinks there are plenty of canyons and valleys to use for trash dumps. His attitude is it won't make a difference to the planet. The problem, as I see it, is that most of the canyons are so removed from population centers and we'll spend a lot money and natural resources to haul the trash to them. Moving the trash somewhere else doesn't solve the real problem, it only moves it elsewhere.

Besides those empty canyons and valleys are part of nature's grand scheme and those spaces are useful for absorbing water to put back into the cycle, for cleaning our air, and as natural habitat for wildlife and recreation. They are someone else's backyard too.

Most people tend to think water and energy are abundant and renewable resources. I guess they are renewable, but the amount of time it takes to renew the supplies is so long that effectively they aren't renewable. Consequently they aren't abundant.

I think it's easier for us to create more trash when we don't have to see the growing mounds of it in our backyards. It's easier to pollute water and air when we see it dispersed, and effectively removed from our backyards.

If you couldn't remove the trash from your yard, how would you handle your consumption? If you had a closed system, like a biosphere, what would you do about water and air pollution? How would you handle the environmental issues that would be more obvious to you if they were confined to your backyard?

If you were given a finite amount of water, would water conservation be important to you? And if energy resources were finite, would you conserve energy? How would your attitudes be affected? I think we'd all be more careful than we are now.

The hospitality business is a wasteful one because of the amount of consumption that happens, especially in a hotel. How can you apply this concept of "not in my backyard" to your hospitality operation?

The basic answer is to reduce waste. What can you do to reduce water and energy consumption? How can refuse be reduced, recycled within your hospitality-biosphere, or given to someone else to use? Where do your guests fit into this concept of consumption reduction? Can you educate your employees and guests so they all contribute to biosphere living?

From my perspective all of this and more can happen. And without impacting the quality guest experience! The attitude has to felt strongly at the top so it cascades across the organizational structure to impact everyone who is part of your hospitality business.

One important aspect of having awareness and taking action is telling your guests about your actions before they get to you. Telling people what actions you are taking raises their awareness about their actions so they can choose to join you in your efforts to reduce waste -- and maybe take the attitude home with them, if they don't already have that attitude at home.

Being able to live successfully in a biosphere is what it will take to preserve the environment so it can support the growing human population. Taking responsibility for your actions and attitudes is what's going to make a difference in preserving the environment.

Steps you take to help preserve the environment will save money too. Make a list right now of the quick and easy steps you can take immediately to start a green program at your hospitality property. A linen re-use program, recycling and newspaper program should be top of your list. Call a staff meeting, get everyone involved, and implement those programs now.