Environmental Accounting of Municipal Solid Waste Originating from Rooms and Restaurants in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

This article focuses on the estimation and the environmental accounting of municipal solid waste (MSW) produced by the hotel industry in Hong Kong. Five models to estimate the amount of the hotel industry’s MSW were developed. It was revealed that plastic toiletries in the industry ranked highest, and newspapers ranked second. Also, the research found that the minimum amount of MSW produced for each occupied room was 1.978 kg, and the quantity of MSW created by the Hong Kong hotel industry reached at least 53,070 tons in 1996, with an estimated environmental cost of 3.02 million Hong Kong dollars. The model predicted that local hotels would produce 53,607 tons of MSW by the year 2000. On average, the hotel industry’s share in the overall MSW was 1.5% in the 1986 to 2000 period. Based on the methodologies and findings, suggestions concerning green accounting at three levels are made.