AVANI WALKS THE TALK
The hotel showcases responsible management of energy, water and waste
Last Thursday morning, the Mayor of Gaborone, Father Maphongo and the General Manager of Avani Gaborone Hotel and Casino, led the team of the resort and guests on a cleaning campaign, and donation of waste bins along the Chuma Drive. Donned in a suit, the Mayor, who recently received accolades for doing a great job with cleaning up the Main Mall and giving it a revamped look, took the occasion very seriously, by getting his hands dirty. After all, this is nothing new as the GCC undertakes a clean- up campaign every quarter.
The event was part of the round table discussion hosted by the GM, Candice Selato under the theme: Conservation- Teaching Responsible Management of Energy, Water and Waste, LandPlanning and Carbon Impact Reduction. What emerged during the clean- up campaign is how most Batswana are reckless when it comes to waste of any kind, varying from sweets packets, masks, bottles and other wastes. Despite the fact that waste bins are normally within reach, some do not give a care in the world about the damage they are causing to the environment through their actions. It also emerged that the journey of making locals conscious when it comes to discarding waste is one that will take a while before most grasp it. Other waste which is of great concern are events promotional materials/ event banners, which event organisers are always keen to put through various parts of the city, and will deliberately ignore after their events.
Speaking during the discussion, she explained that they had undertaken a number of long term Sustainable goals. Some of these initiatives that fall under the goals include Conserving water, to reduce portable water consumption at their premises. To date, she said that 95percent of all room taps and showers are fitted with water aerators, and 65percent of other property areas have been fitted
with the same. They are also using borehole water, and grey water ( laundry water detergent free) for gardening. This water, she said, fills up 5000 litres water tank once a month, and that through this initiative they have saved 333.3m ³ of portable water ( in consumption) since January this year.
In other initiatives, she said that they have eliminated the use of plastic straws. They also have a Vegetable and Herb Garden, which uses natural fertilizers from an off- site compositing facility where it is turned into a nutrient rich soil product and can be used to fertilize on site plants.
“Approximately 999.33kg of the onsite garden water and vegetable off cuts go into composts as we have recently introduced vermicomposting,” explained Selato. Selato further said that they have enrolled a waste recycling programme that ensures that they reduce waste going into the landfills. “Approximately, 3725kg of recyclable waste has been collected since January 2022,” she said.
Other developments include sale of used cooking oil, and food waste, which reduces the waste that goes to the landfill. Used cooking oil is sold at P3 per liter to a local collecting company and food waste which is left from the canteen and restaurants at 50t per kg, she said. The hotel has also introduced energy saving bulbs and lights from the Bulb World, as well as recycling old linen and turning them into laundry bags and coaster, and using water heat exchangers ( for boiler) using solar power. For his part, the Mayor, hailed the initiative by the hotel. He said that this was a great initiative
that follows the one that the city recently undertook ahead of the Forbes Under 30 event. He said that they were intending to extend the event to other parts of the city. He also noted that cleanliness is something that most are taught from a young age. “We must extend it to cleaning the environment,” he said. He also called on home owners and companies to take the initiative to clean their surrounding areas. “They must have greenery in their surrounding areas. Over time we will make this mandatory,” said the Mayor. The Mayor further said that as a Council, they were open to partnering with companies and different entities in a bid to beautify the city. One of these initiatives, he said was the revamping of the Extension 11 Park through a collaboration with the American Embassy. He said that he hoped that the park would host a diversity of events and product offerings in order to attract the public. The same model, he hoped would be extended to other parks that will also come with their own product offerings. Other initiatives that he hopes the public will embrace is planting trees along the streets. For example, Chuma Drive can have a uniform of Morula Trees or Jacaranda trees, that will also make it easier to identify the streets. Meanwhile, the MP of Gaborone Central, Tumisang Healey hailed this initiative and said that things such as clean front yards can change the whole landscape of the city. He also called on community participation.