“Green” Hotels Association� has been successful in providing lodging accommodations with information, techniques, ideas and products to help save water, save energy and reduce solid waste since 1993―for almost 20 years! For properties or individuals not yet involved in a conservation program which saves money and helps protect our environment, GHA offers a Quick Start Environmental Program:

$ Install 0.5 sink aerators @ >$1 each.

$ Install toilet tank fill diverters in older toilets @ $1.50 or less each.

$ Check all tub/showers for water pouring from the tub spout when the shower is on (especially older fixtures).

$ Install 1.6 gpm spray valve for dish rinsing in restaurant kitchen.

$ Provide towel and sheet cards asking guests to consider reusing towels and not having sheets changed every day.

$ Inventory all cleaning products and send all toxics to appropriate disposal entity.

$ Remove all bleach and ammonia products from laundry. Use alternatives.

$ NEVER buy anything that says “wear rubber gloves” or “use eye protection.”

$ Use this general cleaning solution – 50% water, 50% vinegar, few drops of liquid kitchen soap.

$ Purchase a steam cleaning machine for mold, mildew, etc..

$ Begin replacing mowed lawn with ground cover or gardens.

$ Stop using a leaf blower. Use broom or rake, definitely not a water hose.

$ Remove all treated wood because the arsenic residue seeps into the ground and down to the water table―send to appropriate disposal entity.

$ Start recycling cardboard, newspapers and aluminum.

$ Non-smoking hotel.

$ Pest control should be non-toxic, as needed only. Vacuum indoor pests.

$ Replace all exit signs with LED @ $20-30 each.

$ Schedule PTAC filter changes and be sure the inside of PTACs are kept clean.

$ Dispose of all fluorescent tubes or bulbs properly because they contain mercury.

$ Join “Green” Hotels Association� TODAY at greenhotels.com!

GHA President and Founder Patricia Griffin says, “Very few guests come to a hotel for the hotel itself. Guests come to hotels because of what is nearby, whether it’s a beach, golfing, skiing, scenery, history, cultural events, nature-based events, etc. So, hoteliers must care for and protect the reason their guests come.” That can be accomplished through the hundreds, if not thousands, of ideas, techniques and options provided with “Green” Hotels Association�’s Partner Membership. !

Further information on “Green” Hotels Association� and its elite corps of green hoteliers interested in protecting the environment may be found at greenhotels.com or by calling 713/789-8889!