Zero Waste at Jetwing Yala, Sea The Change!
By Juliet Coombe
Sea water is turned into pure water
Read all about it as Jetwing Yala makes headlines. The last contracted waste lorry has been and gone on June 1st, never to return to Jetwing Yala Hotel, the most green of the Jetwing group. It’s hard to know where to start with the measures taken to make this great hotel, with 80 world-class rooms and 5 villa style tents, built only three years ago, a beaming beacon of what anyone can do to make their business at one with their environment.
Jetwing’s engineer, Jeewaka Samarasekara, shows me the latest initiative, which saw them converting seawater into drinkable water for the entire site and within the next three months there will be a glass bottling plant to complete the capture of drinking water in the cycle and swapping out of plastic bottles, the last remnant of the plastic era.
The Desalination plant is a mass of pipes of different sizes, colours and transparencies and very impressive. So now there is water, water everywhere and googols of drops to drink.
Aside from the now commonplace activities amongst Jetwing’s leading hotels including designing their buildings to be naturally ventilated and capture the optimal amount of natural light; having a dedicated team running green initiatives; embedding environmental proactivity in all their highly trained staff; using solar power for the ubiquitous LED lighting and heating water; using the luscious smelling locally sourced cinnamon biomass boilers for air-conditioning and water heating; recycling washing, kitchen and sewage water through natural filters and reed-beds; composting food and vegetation detritus, mechanically and conventionally; capturing rainwater for showers; sourcing as much of their staff, food and other requirements from the local area; and many other initiatives, thec are also making a difference in a multitude of other smaller ways.
The beautifully designed 70 metre pool will soon be naturally cleaned through saltwater electrolysis so you can languish as long as you like without getting dry or irritated skin; a new vegetable and herb garden will be created to use the compost and grow food for the staff and any guest who wants to pick their own or even pick and cook their own will be given classes in Sri Lankan cuisine. Other little bits that add to the emerging picture are closers on all doors to keep in the cold air; a variable pressure pump fort he water to reduce electricity usage when the hotel is not so full and for those really interested a free site visit.
Just remember not to drink too much of the salty sea water when out surfing, well until it has been purified as they say too much of it will send you crazy. So go on be part of the waste free generation who really want to make a difference by going and staying at Jetwing Yala, where the team say “Our concept is to re-use everything” and they mean it.
