By: Deborah Johnson Wood
When Peaches Bed and Breakfast set up shop 14 years ago, there was no such thing as a 'zero waste' concept and there were few recycling programs. But that didn't stop owner Jane Lovett from doing what came naturally for her—paying attention to how she uses and disposes of everything.
Peaches is virtually a 'zero waste' business. Lovett, 44, says just one small bag a week goes to the landfill. That bag contains used tissues and dog waste from her two dogs. Even when Lovett has all 10 rooms at 29 Gay SE, Grand Rapids, filled with guests she rarely has more than the one bag.
"But we fill three or more blue city recycle bins every two weeks," she says.
Lovett has her own recycling system:
- 55-gallon drums in the garage hold all yard waste. When they're full, they're dumped at the city's Butterworth recycle facility.
- All plastic, glass, metal, cardboard, office paper, magazines, and newspapers go into the city recycle bins.
- Lovett never uses Styrofoam, paper plates, rarely uses paper napkins. She cleans house with reusable cloths instead of paper towels.
- Guest rooms have shampoo dispensers to eliminate sample-sized bottles half full of shampoo.
- Hand soap dispensers eliminate using a bar of soap once and discarding it, although she has small soaps for guests who want them.
"When you own a bed and breakfast, you can't believe how much bar soap goes to the landfill."
Lovett gives the used soaps to the local Salvation Army for their in-house programs.
"Recycling is one of those things that makes a big difference to the earth. Everybody can do it and it's free."
Source: Jane Lovett, Peaches Bed and Breakfast
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at
[email protected].
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