The Korean machine alone costed approximately AED 226,000 (US $61,500), and then there were additional costs involved. “I got sponsorship from different parties for this machine. Even the room that the machine is placed in was sponsored by a construction company, and so was the branding around it. For the hotel, it was free.”
IN PRACTICE
“We were the first in the Middle East to have bought this machine. Since then, 25 different places, including HH Sheikh Mohammed’s Zabeel Palace, have bought the same machine. They came and saw it running, and knew that it worked,” says Hamdani.
GreenGood composter turns food waste into refined fertiliser, which is then used in the hotel’s own garden and also supplied to nearby villas and palaces. “Kitchen segregates the waste; the compost only gets the organic waste, like peel of tomatoes, food, bones, even tissues, and that goes in the machine. If we put 50kg of waste in it, 90% will evaporate as it’s water and the remaining 10% will be the solid compost.”
To further curtail food wastage, which increased another 30% during Ramadan 2015, Hamdani advised the team to liaise with the front office to get a real picture instead of cooking for all the hotel occupants. “We have a shuttle service from the hotel to Dubai Mall. If 100 people have taken the shuttle service, they are not likely to be there for lunch or dinner. This helped bring down the wastage.”
With 60% of the waste from the kitchen sorted, the remaining 40% comprised 30% recyclable items like glass, metal, etcetera, collected by Green Mountains, and 10% waste that could neither be reused or recycled, and ended up on the landfill. “We are still throwing the 10% of this one tonne on the landfill, and we are thinking of ways to reduce it further as the aim is 0% on landfill.”
Besides using the machine, Hamdani has introduced some other effective ways to manage waste. Suppliers, especially for vegetables, are discouraged to bring supplies in cartons; instead, they are provided baskets to use.
In addition, different coloured dustbins are placed across the hotel to help segregate waste in the initial stage, thereby decreasing the workload for hotel staff.
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Oct 9, 2015 , United Arab Emirates
Well Done Mr. Hamdani. Well Done R-Ajman! Truly, actions speak louder than the words. I have been staying at R-Ajman regularly and found that on any account, an indication of dis-satisfaction is taken seriously and swiftly remedied to the entire satisfaction of the guest. Commendable, it is assu...