A five-star resort in Bali, Indonesia – Alila Villas Uluwatu – has launched a program to reduce waste and pollution. The scheme includes recycling bottles and other waste, and even repurposing guest belongings.
Called Sustainability Lab, the scheme repurposes abandoned glass bottles as part of its zero-waste goal. The bottles are repurposed to make drinking glasses for the resort’s Indonesian restaurant The Warung, as well as souvenirs for sale in the Alila Boutique. They are also made into candleholders used as decorations at special events.
Styrofoam and the plastic layers of the slippers that visitors receive in their rooms are also recycled and used to fill bean bags at the staff lounge and other Alila facilities in Bali.
The resort says waste materials also have value in other ways, such as when they are recycled or given back to suppliers. This helps to extend the life of existing resources and commodities while reducing expenses.
The resort’s brand-new “Pick and Swap Shop” allows staff to take home products including beach bags, beach caps, slippers, and hangers that might not be in pristine shape for guests, but are still suitable for use.
In addition, Alila Villas Uluwatu fosters partnerships that develop beneficial products. For instance, the resort partnered with Parongpong Recycling Waste Lab to turn cigarette butts into furniture.
Worn-out tyres from buggies used at the resort are transformed into coasters at its Sunset Cabana Bar, along with sandals made by Indosole, an environmentally conscious shoe manufacturer. With the help of Mountain Mamas, a local social company run by women, the resort was able to transform abandoned umbrellas into tote bags.
The resort also produces its own compost from landscaping waste, which is used to rehabilitate the soil in its organic chilli garden and the grounds surrounding its 14-hectare clifftop property.
Since 2019, the resort has taken the initiative to address the other two elements of a circular economy: regenerating nature and circulating goods and resources at their peak value.
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