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 WTO’s Tourism 2020 vision forecasts Global tourist arrivals to reach 1.6 billion, generating US$ 2 trillion per year by (Page and Dowling. 2002)

But, the tourism industry’s 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

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