Kimpton Pilots Solar-Powered Trash Compactor

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- Hotels, 4/1/2008

Hotel Helix picked an unusual place to focus its energy management efforts: the trash compactor.

The Kimpton property in Washington, D.C., took a Vert-I-Pack compactor from Marathon Equipment Co. and modified it with a solar panel, eliminating the need to plug it in. This saves roughly 2 kilowatt hours per month in energy—a relatively miniscule amount. But Helix is piloting the US$13,000 solar-powered compactor for possible future implementation companywide, at which point the energy savings would begin to add up, if slowly.

For Kimpton Hotels, the primary concern is not always return on investment. “From a financial standpoint, this isn’t a thing we are going to save a boatload of money on,” says Donte Johnson, assistant general manager at Hotel Helix, “but it’s not about that for us.”

Eco-friendly public relations has its own indirect economic value, of course, but given that the compactor is hidden from public view, Helix cannot even show it off as proof of its commitment to green. Johnson says this is truly a case, however small, of a hotel company doing its part to save the environment explicitly because it is the right thing to do. “For us, this whole effort to be eco-friendly is not a marketing campaign. It’s not something we will always be able to put out front, but it’s something that is part of our cultural DNA,” he says.

That isn’t to say Kimpton doesn’t also market itself as green. The company publicly promotes its EarthCare initiative, which focuses on the standard range of green efforts like non-toxic cleaners, water efficiency systems and organic foods. Kimpton touts itself as being the first hotel company to place recycling bins in all guestrooms, and its Hotel Triton in 2004 was named the state of California’s official model green hotel. But a low-impact, under-the-radar installation like a solar-powered trash compactor indicates a genuine green attitude.

“We’re always trying to find ways to be more eco-friendly,” Johnson says. “We sleep better knowing that we’re supporting a more global effort.”