Kalaloch Lodge Reduces Environmental Impact and Surpasses Goals

Upon assuming the National Park Service (NPS) contract to operate the seaside Kalaloch Lodge in Olympic National Park in September 2012, Delaware North Parks & Resorts has championed several projects to preserve and promote the cultural and natural heritage of the area around the Lodge. In that time, the operations division at Kalaloch Lodge made significant progress on the water and waste reduction goals, and continue to implement industry-leading practices.

Reducing Water Consumption

Kalaloch Lodge Shower Timer

In alignment with the goal of reducing water consumption by 40% by 2020, Parks & Resorts management took aggressive and immediate steps to reach that goal, including the following:

• Installing low-flow showerheads.
• Implementing a linen reuse program.
• Placing shower timers in guest rooms and employee housing.
• Retrofitting the dishwasher and kitchen sprayer with low-flow equipment.
• Training staff about water conservation goals and initiatives.

Within only a few months of these actions, water consumption had been reduced by over 20%, and was reduced by a staggering 40% by 2013!  Following this achievement, the goal for 2020 was increased to a 50% reduction.

Kalaloch Lodge has also joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense H₂Otel Challenge, which launched in early 2014 and aims to encourage hotels and other lodging businesses to “ACT” and Assess their water use, Change water-wasting products or processes, and Track their results (www.epa.gov/watersense).

“Our pledge with the WaterSense H₂Otel Challenge was to reduce consumption at Kalaloch Lodge by at least 40% by 2020. We effectively met that goal a full seven years ahead of schedule,” said Walter Kochansky, General Manager, Kalaloch Lodge. “I’m proud of associates and our guests for taking on and exceeding this pledge, and we will continue to look for ways to conserve this vital natural resource.”

Rain barrels at Kalaloch Lodge

Not only has Kalaloch met and exceeded their goals for water conservation, they are also making commendable strides in waste reduction.

Waste Reduction

Parks & Resorts established a goal of Zero Waste by 2020, with an incremental goal of attaining a 40% diversion rate by 2014.  Again, management at Kalaloch stepped up to the plate and developed solutions that took the solid waste diversion rate from 5% to nearly 50% in one year, surpassing the goal and diverting nearly 31 tons of waste from the landfill.  This was not an easy task, as systems and processes needed to be developed from scratch due to the remote location on the Olympic peninsula.

Kalaloch’s Recycling Trailer

Kalaloch management took proactive steps and thought creatively to achieve this milestone, including the following items:

• Purchasing their own trailer and began self-hauling recyclables to Forks, WA.
• Installing an oil filtering system in the kitchen which extends the oil life by 40%.
• Recycling over 800 gallons of kitchen waste oil which was converted into biodiesel by a local vendor.
• Donating 1,700 pounds of glass bottles to a local resident who repurposed this material at his home for insulation.
• Installing an oil filtering system in the kitchen which extends the oil life by 40%.
• Partnering with local farms and correctional facility to divert over 20,000 pounds of organic waste from the restaurant to be used for animal feed or converted to compost.
• Installing an oil filtering system in the kitchen which extends the oil life by 40%.
• Recycling over 800 gallons of kitchen waste oil which was converted into biodiesel by a local vendor.
• Donating 1,700 pounds of glass bottles to a local resident who repurposed this material at his home for insulation.
• Reusing fence posts to make new signs.
• Eliminating the use of individual condiments in the restaurant and purchased in bulk using reusable containers.
• Adopting a two-mile stretch of Highway 101 and conducted four highway cleanups annually collecting 45 bags of trash.
• Hosting a Clean the Beach even for the public and provided a BBQ lunch to over 300 volunteers.
• Placing all public recycling and trash bins adjacent to one another with improved signs.
• Adding recycling bins in public and employee areas.
• Partnering with Clean the World to divert soaps, lotions and amenities from guest rooms.

Stewardship

In addition to the waste and water initiatives, Parks & Resorts management at Kalaloch has demonstrated its long-term commitment to stewardship by protecting and conserving resources of this Special Place by implementing far-reaching sustainable policies and programs upon takeover.

In the current year, the team at Kalaloch will focus on the guestrooms, operational recycling, organic waste collection from employee housing, and improved communication efforts. Making an Environmentally Preferable Purchase (EPP) is considered in all purchasing decisions and supports local, regional and sustainable products.

Kalaloch Lodge provides guests with biodegradable room keys and flashlights for wayfinding.

The following sustainable standards are also upheld at the Lodge:

• 60% of all food is sourced locally during the growing season.
• 30% of all food is sourced locally during the winter.
• All wines served are from Washington State.
• 60% of retail merchandise is USA made.
• 20% of retail space is dedicated to local Native American Tribes.

Kalaloch Lodge has also been recognized as a Gold Green Leader on TripAdvisor, an Energy Star Partner, is Green Restaurant certified, and is ISO 14001 registered.

Did you know that 45.47% of the contiguous U.S. is currently experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions (U.S. Drought Monitor)?  These areas include several of our operating sites and impact the places where we work and play.  You too can get in on the water saving action both at your sites and at home.  The EPA’s WaterSense program offers useful tools and webinars to help get you started (check out http://www.epa.gov/watersense/commercial/challenge.html).  Conservation of potable water goes beyond just turning off the faucet though; microbeads, synthetic exfoliants, and other pollutants are also becoming an alarming problem.  Know what you’re buying–conservation begins with conscious consumers!