Tralee

<h6>By Georgie Downes</h6>
THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS story comes to you courtesy of The Rose Hotel who have shown up for the environment big-style lately. They recently announced measures to further reduce their carbon footprint, including ditching plastic refuse bags in favour of bio-degradable Eco Sacks and swapping plastic gloves for compostable ones. Previously, they did away with plastic straws and now, even their napkins are compostable. At a time when consumers are faced with a tsunami of one-use plastic products foisted upon them, this is a massively progressive move and everyone here at The Chamber supports it.&nbsp;
The Rose Hotel began their leaner, greener journey in 2019 and was one of the first hotels in Kerry to be awarded a Fifty Shades Greener certificate. “Being environmentally aware is so important, so we’re happy and excited to do our bit to reduce waste. It will only have positive results for all of us down the line,” head chef Odran Lucey tells me, and he should know; he’s the man tasked with spearheading the campaign to cut the hotel’s carbon footprint by 5% this year, and possibly even more.

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<h6 style="text-align:center;">Head Chef Ordan Lucey&nbsp;</h6>
“The kitchen of any hotel generates a lot of waste, but I’m very focused on it now. We’re all motivated to recycle as much as possible. It’s even spilled into my home life. Before, my recycle bin took two weeks to fill and my refuse bin took one. Now it’s the other way around.” Ordan tells me.
“Covid was tough because we were restrained by HSE protocols around plastic. Nothing could be shared so things had to be served in individual little bits of packaging like salt, sugar, cream, things like that. But now the restrictions have lifted, we’re pleased to serve all condiments like jams and butter and sauces in ramekin dishes, sugar is loose in a bowl and milk is poured from a jug.” Hallelujah.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The hotel is showing its green credentials through other measures too; water conversation restrictors have been put in to the showers, reducing water consumption by 33% per minute and eco toilet flushers have been installed in the bedrooms, while new aerators have been fitted to all bathroom taps. They have also teamed up with Shanahan’s Garden Centre in Farrenfore who take their used coffee grinds and give it away to their customers to improve the soil. They even show them how to use it. That’s joined-up thinking at its best.
Ordan is taking his sustainable journey further by enrolling in a Level 6 Fifty Shades Greener Programme. The aim of the programme is to provide knowledge and skills to the hospitality industry so they can control and reduce their waste and energy consumption. The future is definitely looking brighter at The Rose Hotel.
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Forget Fifty Shades of Grey. We want Fifty Shades of Green!

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