PO‘IPU — The smell usually associated with trash areas could not overpower the enthusiasm the students had when they saw the big recycling bin at a resort where they spent the day learning about a greener future. Island School students
PO‘IPU — The smell usually associated with trash areas could not overpower the enthusiasm the students had when they saw the big recycling bin at a resort where they spent the day learning about a greener future.
Island School students in the third grade and kindergarten, traveling in what Diane Ferry, one of the school’s chaperones, described as a “Buddy Trip,” visited the Grand Hyatt Regency Kaua‘i Resort and Spa yesterday to get a closer look at how a big business utilizes recycling and green concepts in its daily operations.
“We know that Island School has a strong recycling program and this helps raise keiki awareness of recycling in a fun and interactive way,” said Diann Hartman, the communications manager at the Grand Hyatt.
Hartman was also the leader who took the group through the recently dedicated photovoltaic system which helps generate power through solar panels for the resort.
The Island School group broke into four groups, touring four areas in the resort to see how recycling and green concepts affect its operation.
In the Laundry Department, manager Sherry Horita pointed out that loads are weighed in at approximately 500-pound loads to maximize the amount of washing used for the amount of power used.
She also pointed out that laundry bags which were put out for guests’ use are being replaced by baskets which can be reused once the cloth liners have been cleaned.
Lawrence Eells, the executive chef in the resort’s Main Kitchen, said the biggest item that is recycled is food. Eells said a lot of the waste food is made up of water, and is placed in special containers which are picked up by pig farmers who turn it into food for hogs.
But the word water triggered Eells into a math exercise when he quizzed the students about how heavy one of the containers weighed, based on water weighing eight pounds per gallon.
The tour ended with the students each receiving a special lunch packed in a re-usable cloth bag, which they enjoyed at a park before returning back to school.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
