What to do with Plastic bottles & single use plastics?

Andrew157
Level 10
Windermere, United Kingdom

What to do with Plastic bottles & single use plastics?

Plastic bottles are big news in the UK at present. So I was wondering about creative ways to reduce the use of single use plastic in our listing. 

 

Currently we provide two bottles of water in the fridge and extra 2litre bottles in the listing with a borehole supply. 

 

We will stop supplying the water and provide a water flask and a reusable glass bottle of the tap water to chill in the fridge. 

 

Any other ideas? 

68 Replies 68

My rental is in the mountains outside LA, a popular spot for hiking and mountain biking in the summer.  As a gift to my guests, I leave them reusable water bottles-- either glass or insulated-- so they can take the bottles with them and stay hydrated while they play.  I keep a filtered pitcher in the fridge. 

We have a PUR filtered water container in the fridge for guests to use. It holds a gallon of filtered water away a time and always gets refilled when we refresh the unit. 

Bianca156
Level 10
São Paulo, Brazil

I stalled a a water filter and have plant glass reudable botters available 

Sarah233
Level 2
Cambria, CA

Hi I just read about your water to guests... WE provide some water and a Brita for refills. MY ISSUE: 

MY COMMUNITY IS LOW ON WATER. WE WILL BE RATIONING BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER WITH 50 GALLONS PER PERSON. THIS IS WHY WE DO NOT RENT FULL TIME. IS IT OK TO ASK PEOPLE TO BRING THEIR OWN LINENS AND TOWELS..... AND I MIGHT HAVE TO NOT ACCEPT DOGS ANYMORE IF THE CLEANING REQUIRES MORE WATER.... JUST PUT IN $$$ FAKE GRASS WHICH IS LOVELY. BUT HOW DO I EDUCATE MY GUESTS, AND KEEP TABS ON THEIR WATER USE? QUARTER SHOWERS? HELP?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. SARAH

@Sarah233 Please excuse me if you are already trying some / all of these water saving tips:

 

1. It would be another expense, but you can get shower heads which drastically reduce the amount of water used. Some existing heads/hoses can have adaptors fitted too - ask a plumber.

2. You can also put a clean block (brick?) inside the cistern of your toilet so that each flush/refill uses less water (and guests won't even see your secret 'device'!).

3. You could also mention that you are an 'eco' home on your listing (house rules section maybe?) and encourage guests to follow your example of water saving... at least you'll be managing their expectations in advance.

4. If you really want to go to the extreme, you could use 'grey' water to water the garden - basically waste water from your laundry and dish washing - as long as you are using biodegradale detergents... you'll need to divert the waste pipe into a storage tank rather than straight down the drain.

5. Next time you are due to buy new towels, try thinner 'waffle' types or bamboo rather than thick 'plush' cotton ones... this massively reduces your water usage for washing and also drying times as a bonus! Plus, you can fit a lot more into the washing machine. The Turkish 'hammam' style are also great for these reasons, and they last for years. I got all of mine very cheaply from TJ MAXX (TK MAXX in the UK). These thinner towels require a bit of 'creative' folding to make them look a bit bulkier than they are, or hang them rather than fold...

6. Even 'posh' hotels have polite notices in their bathrooms about unneccessary use of fresh towels, so there's no reason why you couldn't do the same.

7. If you provide bathrobes these should definitely be of the 'waffle' / thinner variety. Plush, bulky robes are water guzzlers and you can imagine how many will fit into one washing machine load... 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Sarah233   Where I live there is not water rationing per se (i.e. gallons per person, nor do we have water meters) but water delivery is not constant. The town water line out to my place is only opened 2 or 3 times a week, during the night. This fills my water storage tanks, capacity about 800 gallons, so I have to be quite conservative with water. The whole town operates like this- no one gets constant water coming down the line.

 

I only host 1 guest at a time, so that helps as far as water usage. But when guests arrive, I'm quite clear about the need to conserve water.

 

No need to flush the toilet every time you pee- if it's yellow, let it mellow.

Do not leave water running when brushing teeth or washing dishes.

5-10 minute showers, max. No need to turn the water off when soaping up, nor jump in and out in 2 minutes, but if you take a 20 minute shower today, you might not have any water to shower tomorrow.

Hang up wet towels over the outside railing (it's almost always sunny here) so they dry quickly and stay fresh smelling.

Guests get 2 bath towels, 1 hand towel, and 1 wash cloth per week. If they're here for 10 days, I'll give them fresh ones at the halfway mark, 5 days.

 

Because I have a rural listing, I tend to get guests who are environmentally and ecologically aware people anyway, so none of my guests have balked at this program, ignored it, nor given me a bad review because of it. Many say they do much the same at home, even though they have may have no water restrictions where they live.

 

If your whole area is water restricted, it's not like your guests will be able to book another place in Cambria (I've been there- it's lovely) where they can be wanton with water usage. You could state prominently near the top of your listing "Please be aware that ALL of Cambria is on water restrictions. Conservative use of water is a must. "

 

And I myself make sure as much water as possible does double duty. Floor washing water gets used to water the potted plants, and my grey water lines all pipe out to various areas of the garden (I built my house from scratch, so this was incorporated). When I have a shower, I have a pail in there which I place to catch as much shower water as possible. I don't indisciminately throw clothes I've worn once into the laundry basket. Towels get hung up to dry after showers so they don't end up getting funky and needing to be washed so often. 

 

 

Daniel-and-Marsio0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Andrew157 When we needed to replace our kitchen sink mixer tap, we went for a Brita branded tap (bought from a large Sainsbury's store). It was a similar price to a regular tap set. It has three levers - the small middle one delivers filtered water from the mains. The filter only requires replacing every few months (up to 6, depending on usage!) so it's very convenient compared to having a plastic Brita 'jug' hanging around. The used filter can back to Sainsbury's when it needs replacing.

We also keep a beautiful glass bottle filled with this water in the fridge. We never provide bought 'bottled' water, and definely no single-use plastic cups, straws, plates, cutlery etc.

Recently we started ordering bamboo toilet paper in bulk from 'Who Gives A Crap?', which comes wrapped in paper... and has all sorts of other eco/ethical advantages. Check 'em out with this discount link! https://www.talkable.com/x/sV7cX2

Samanthi2
Level 2
Hamilton, NY

We just started hosting this year and have struggled with the single-use bottled water issue. But - hey, it's 2020 in a few weeks so I'm resolving to stop buying them and give my guests a pitcher of filtered water in the fridge and call it done. Our property has safe, tested municipal water from a local reservoir in Upstate NY so I'd say it is far better (tasting) than the bottled stuff.

 

Thanks for the encouragement to take this small step and leave (less of) a mark. Maybe it will get my guests thinking more about their plastic use, too...

Denise1686
Level 1
Irvine, CA

We leave new, cold PATH bottles in the fridge for guests, along with a note explaining how to reuse them. I think it's a nice upgraded touch that promotes reuse and eliminates single-use plastic water bottles. Before PATH, I noticed we had more plastic to clean up, and now, it seems guests use their bottle and take it with them - the waste has vanished. **

 

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