Sustainability is more than recycling

The road to circularity

Last summer, I helped a friend dismantle the furniture in his flat - a bed, a wardrobe and tables - all put together by hand by the previous tenant. We only had two days to take everything apart, so we had to work quickly. But the real challenge was deciding what to do with the wood. The current tenant suggested throwing it away, even though it would be recycled. The idea of wasting perfectly usable material didn't sit well with me.

I contacted friends and within a few hours the wood had found a new use: one friend used it for a renovation, another built other furniture from it and a third managed to make a chicken coop with the leftovers. The few remaining pieces were recycled. This experience reinforced the idea that circular thinking - reusing instead of throwing away - can minimise waste.

Circularity in the hotel industry

The concept of circularity extends beyond personal experiences. According to Statbel, Belgium annually produces more than 2.5 million tonnes of wood waste, much of which could be reused or recycled (Source: Statistics Belgium based on surveys, administrative data (OVAM, IBGE-BIM, DGARNE) and models). This raises an important question: how do hoteliers, owners and managers deal with material waste? Do they have circular strategies in place?

Hotels often focus on recycling and energy transition, but true circularity starts at the beginning of the R-ladder: Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair. For example, hotels could refuse daily cleaning, reconsider menus with many meat options, or reduce or more sustainably design travel distances for guests, employees and suppliers. Circular thinking requires looking at the big picture as well as the small details.

Hotels for Trees: a circular initiative

A notable initiative in this context is Hotels for Trees. Here, everything started by asking: why should hotel rooms be cleaned daily when guests might not find it necessary? By refusing unnecessary cleaning, hotels can use the savings to plant trees - giving something back to nature and having a positive impact on the environment, at no cost to guests. Since its launch, Hotels for Trees has planted 700,000 trees (as of September 2025) in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Madagascar, Indonesia, Bolivia and beyond.

The process is simple: guests find a door hanger in their room, indicating that they are waiving cleaning in exchange for planting a tree. The housekeeping department registers these rooms digitally or by hand in the morning, and the hotel enters the number of trees to be planted on the dashboard. Digital integration with various property management systems (PMS) streamlines the process and makes it easier to register the trees at check-in, including for housekeeping during rounds.

With 250 hotels already participating, Hotels for Trees is making a tangible difference - tree by tree. If you are ready to contribute, join the initiative and help plant one million trees a year.