TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILTY: AN

ASSESSMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF

HOSPITALITY FACILITIES IN SUNYANI, GHANA.
BY

LAWRENCIA POKUAH-NIMO

PHILOMENA OWUSUAA FORDJOUR


Outline of presentation
Introduction and Background
Research problem
Objectives and research questions
Methodology
Findings and discussion
Conclusion
Recommendations

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Tourism is one of the leading growth sectors
of the global economy, bringing in billions of
dollars annually and transporting millions of
people internationally.
The WTOs Tourism 2020 vision forecasts
Global tourist arrivals to reach 1.6 billion,
generating US$ 2 trillion per year by 2020.
(Page and Dowling. 2002)

But, the tourism industrys growth through
the years has created an increasing amount of
stress on the environment, for increased
tourism has meant increases in hospitality
facilities to serve the needs of tourists.
The hospitality industry comprises several
categories including accommodation,
restaurants, events, theme parks, pubs,
transportation, cruise line and additional
fields within the tourism industry according to
Wikipedia, 2011.



The hospitality sector contributes greatly to
the generation of waste and in India it has
been noted that hotels and restaurant waste
contribute around 25%-30% of total waste
generated in the country (Wagh, 2011).
The world today is faced with many challenges
of waste disposal and management.


Kwawe (1995) has noted that waste handling
poses the greatest challenge to humankind
inspite of the numerous technological
achievements.
Governments are spending lots of moneys to
manage waste and its associated problems,
yet yielding minimal results (Pacione, 2005 ).


Different methods are used in managing waste
in the world and may differ for developed and
developing countries, urban and rural areas,
and for residential and industrial producers.
And each of these has consequences for
humanity and the environment.
Waste produced by hospitality units fall under
commercial waste which is usually managed
by the generator or producer.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Waste generation is the result of human
activities and in the Sunyani Municipality in
particular, the steady growth of hospitality
businesses, and other industrial activities has
led to increased waste generation which
needs to be managed to forestall any negative
impacts on the environment.
Tourism unavoidably affects the state of the
environment.
The growth in tourism demand may lead to
significant environmental impacts.
The most likely may come from transport, the
use of water, energy and land, and the
generation of waste by hospitality facilities.
In the Sunyani municipality there are several
accommodation and catering establishments
that generate waste.





The focus of this study is to examine the
methods of waste management adopted by
these establishments.
And how they contribute to ensuring
environmental sustainability.
The concern of this study is that the methods
of waste management must be assessed, to
ensure the safety of human life and the
environment.


For, as noted by Page and Cornell (2009), the
hospitality sector generate waste that poses
threats to the health of tourists and the
environment of the destination regions.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this paper was to
examine how hospitality facilities manage the
waste they generate to ensure environmental
sustainability.
To determine the type of waste produced
To assess the challenges of waste
management.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
The study employed the combination of
cluster sampling and the simple random
sampling techniques of data collection.
This was due to the different establishments
in the hospitality industry.
Forty hospitality businesses in the Sunyani
Municipality were sampled for the study, and
questionnaires were used to solicit
information from respondents






MAJOR CONSTRAINT
Information was not available for the sector
specific levels of waste production, mainly due
to the fact that the waste management
company could not extract such data.
Efforts by the researchers also needed
resources and time beyond their means.
Self reported cases should not be relied on
since there were huge differences in estimates
even within the same facility.
MAIN FINDINGS
The study identified several categories of
waste generated by hospitality facilities in
Sunyani. (solid, liquid and gas but a major part
is solid and liquid waste-52%.)
That the accommodation sector generated the
most waste (42.5%). Rada (1996) has noted
that lodging facilities have the greatest
negative impacts on the environment due to
the intense energy and water consumption
and solid waste generation.


Burning constituted the most common means
of waste disposal. Two thirds (67%) of units
adopted this method.
Respondents however agreed that burning
causes pollution and breathing disorders,
supporting Gosling (2002)s view that lodging
facilities account for a substantial portion of
the negative environmental impacts
generated by the tourism sector.

Bohdanowicz and Martinac (2002) have also
concluded that though the accommodation
sector does not always produce easily
identifiable point sources of pollution, the
cumulative and long term effects of such large
numbers of small polluters are equally
harmful.
Most respondents (85%) confirmed that they
do not sort their waste for disposal.
That the rest of the waste that is not burnt or
buried, usually carted to landfill sites by waste
management companies (55%), and the use of
wheelbarrows (17.5%), whiles some are
carried by employees (20%).
The most critical challenges of waste
management was identified as untimely
collection of waste by waste management
companies and high charges for waste
collection.
This caused them to resort to burning and
burying of waste.
This they explained, is done to avoid hoarding
of waste to breed mosquitoes, houseflies and
rodents.


Conclusion and Recommendations

It was observed that challenges with waste
disposal caused facilities to adopt waste
management practices that are harmful to
local health and the environment.
Facility operators agreed that proper waste
management reduces cost of operations and
contribute to environmental sustainability.
More that half (55%) stated that proper waste
management contributes to the success of
their businesses.

Hospitality enterprises produce waste as a
result of their daily activities. Much of this
waste can be harmful to both humans and the
environment, stressing the need for them to
be disposed off safely.
Again the non-hazardous waste can be bulky,
causing landfill sites to be quickly used up.
In addition to cost savings, waste
management practices in the hospitality
industry reduces health risks, protects the
environment whiles enhancing the company's
Public image.


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