6 Easy Ways to Reduce Waste the Next Time You Stay in a Hotel

04/20/2021

When you're traveling, it can feel like trash piles up to towering levels. You're away from your home base, in a transient state, and going for single-use items seems a whole lot easier. Still, there are a few simple ways that you can reduce waste during hotel stays, helping keep your travels sustainable and easier on the environment. Here are a few easy changes you can make to cut down on waste the next time you stay in a hotel.

Use Recycling

When the hotel offers recycling, make good use of the amenity to discard waste more sustainably. There are usually recycling receptacles in hotel lobbies, if not in your hotel room. Can't find one? Ask someone at the front desk for help. You can also separate single-use water bottles and cans to save them from the landfill and give them a new life with recycling.

Skip the Plastic Garbage Can Liners

Spare a little waste and make a big impact by doing your best to limit the use of trash can liners where you can. Even if you drop a single tissue or cotton swab in the waste bin, housekeeping will need to discard the whole bag. So if there are two trash cans in your room, you can save a bag by only using one. This might not seem like a lot, but as with most ways to reduce waste, it's all about the cumulative effect over time.

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Use Refillable Water Bottle Stations

Recycling is a great option, but even better is avoiding waste in the first place. By making use of refillable water bottle stations in your hotel, you can bring your own bottle and help save the planet at the same time. Plus, you get to sport your own style while you help reduce waste.

Opt-Out of Frequent Room Cleanings

You'll often see those little signs in the bathroom that encourage you to hang up your towel if you don't need it to be washed, helping save water. And that's more than just a marketing ploy. Laundry is the second greatest water use in hotels, and skipping the wash can cut that water waste down substantially.

If you don't see one of those little cards, no worries. Put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door if you don't need your bedding and towels changed. This can save gallons and gallons of water for every hotel stay, adding up to a considerable impact, especially when combined with all the guests who opt to reduce along with you. Oh, and the number one use of hotel water? Toilets and showers. So cutting down on your shower time can make a difference too!

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Bring Your Own Utensils

When you're staying in a hotel and dining on take-out meals, all the plastic adds up. To avoid piling up waste with clamshell containers and cellophane-wrapped forks, plastic straws, and disposable drink containers, you can make a big difference by bringing along a reusable drink container and utensil kit to use during your stay.

Avoid Single-use Toiletries

Sure, it might not seem like a big deal to pop open a tiny bottle of shampoo when you hop in the shower at your hotel. It seems like such a small thing, but all that waste from single-use toiletries accumulates to a surprising degree. A great alternative to cut down on garbage is to bring your own refillable travel-size toiletries when you're on the road. And as more and more hotels adopt refillable wall-mount style dispensers, hopefully, the disposable kind will become a thing of the past.

Highline Adventures is committed to providing a more sustainable travel experience for visitors at all of its hotels. We hope you'll do your part to help the environment as you travel as well. For more inspiration for your future sustainable travels, the Highline Adventures blog has you covered. Get your guide to Big Sky country and the environmentally friendly programs at our properties.