Travel creates huge amounts of waste, and it is easy to understand why. The point of going on the road is to behave in a way that you would not at home. Plus the TSA regulations allowing only small bottles of toiletries lead to pesky plastic containers ending up landfill--or in a bird’s stomach.

During World Water Week in Sweden, I stayed at a Scandic Hotels property in central Stockholm. This little wastebasket is simple and genius. The apple cores pilfered from the breakfast end up in here, there is a section for containers, and then the main bin is for paper. Color coded and easy to figure out, the design is also seamless for the cleaning staff who have to quickly clean dozens of rooms day in and day out.

I have only seen recycling bins in a few boutique hotels in the USA and in Canada. More hotel chains love to talk about how sustainable they are; hotel recycling bins like this are a simple first step in tackling the problems of waste diversion.

Part of our In One Picture Series.

Photo courtesy Leon Kaye.

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Sweden, Stockholm, recycling, hotel recycling bins, world water week, waste diversion, central, plastic, Scandic Hotels, travel

Recycling Bin, Scandic Grand Hotel

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.