Estimation of GHG emission from hotel industry

This paper deals with the estimation of different categories of waste, its quantity from hotel businesses, and its negative impact on the environment. The data are gathered with the help of a non-government organization – Indian Pollution Control Association, New Delhi. The data thus gathered are tabulated using the waste reduction model (WARM – Environment Protection Agency (EPA), USA). Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from hotel waste is calculated using the EPA calculator. GHG equivalence is derived in terms of passenger vehicles, gasoline, electricity used in homes, and energy use using the same calculator. It is unique as it is the first time that the emission from hotel waste is being estimated. It is helpful in raising an alarm for future problems related to solid waste management (SWM). It will help in developing environmental strategies and policies to streamline the SWM practices in this industry. The limitation of this study is that the WARM uses 46 different categories of waste and their emission factors are accepted as per its norm, which may slightly differ for similar types of materials in India.