The smallest emirate in the UAE, Ajman, dumps 600 tonnes of waste on landfills every day — an alarming number. However, Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman general manager Iftikhar Hamdani reveals how he reduced the waste from his hotel by 90%, and his plans to involve other hoteliers across the emirate in his eco–friendly drive.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

“A couple of years ago, I asked my chef and housekeeper: ‘How much waste are we throwing every day?’ One said 100kg, the other 200kg, and someone else said 350kg. They were all assumptions; no one knew for sure. So I decided to weigh it.”

Everyone was surprised when the scale showed an astounding 950kg. The revelation propelled Hamdani to devise measures to cut down the wastage and create sustainable operations. But soon he realised there were too many other aspects that needed his attention, and this was all in addition to routine operations and management. From excessive electricity usage to daily printing of hefty reports that nobody read beyond the summary, he had his work cut out for him.

“The kitchen produces 60% of the wastage. The oil wasn’t being recycled and a lot of food, untouched, was going in the bin. Something had to be done,” he says.

PLANNING & INVESTMENT

Hamdani focused on education. He spoke to all the staff members personally, held weekly meetings to monitor the progress and assess the measures undertaken to reduce waste, and marked earth day, earth hour and other such days to create awareness. This also acted as a reminder and reinforcement for the team and community at large.

“These steps were a good start but like AIMS Environment general manager Harbinder Singh said, we needed to do something substantial about the waste from the kitchen to really make an impact. He suggested we get GreenGood composter. We started researching, spoke to people and hoteliers who were using it, and they all said it was excellent and works.”

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