Medium hotels generate substantial amounts of organic waste daily, including food scraps, garden waste, and other biodegradable materials. This waste, if not appropriately managed, can lead to significant environmental and operational challenges.

Traditional waste disposal methods, such as landfilling and incineration, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and are increasingly becoming unsustainable due to regulatory pressures and rising costs.

Associated problems:

1. Environmental Impact: Organic waste in landfills decomposes anaerobically, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Incineration, while reducing waste volume, releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.
2. Operational Costs: Waste disposal costs are rising due to stricter environmental regulations. Hotels face financial pressure to find more cost-effective waste management solutions.
3. Sustainability Goals: Many hotels are committed to reducing their carbon footprint. However, achieving these goals requires innovative waste management practices that go beyond traditional methods.
4. Space Constraints: Urban hotels, in particular, may lack the space for large-scale waste treatment facilities. A compact, efficient solution is needed to handle organic waste on-site without requiring extensive space.
5. Resource Recovery: Organic waste is a valuable resource that can be converted into compost or biogas. However, many hotels lack the infrastructure to capitalize on this potential, missing out opportunities for resource recovery and cost savings.

The development of an innovative smart collection system for the organic wastes of large-scale producers like hotels could effectively address these problems.

Such a system could help reduce environmental impact, lower operational costs, and help hotels meet their sustainability goals.

By integrating this system into their operations, hotels can manage waste more efficiently, even in space-constrained urban environments.

Rethymno Hoteliers Association 

Rethymno, Crete, Greece