Working Toward Green
Like many other individuals and businesses, Minerva’s continues to try to retain a responsible ecological “footprint”, as well as reducing allergens in the environment.
So we try to balance the goals of 1) making your vacation comfortable, safe, and restorative, 2) doing our part in conserving the “stuff” that all our grandchildren will need, while still trying to keep our rates modest.) So balancing those three goals, here’s what we are doing so far (we’ll hope to do more in the future):
- The building is well-insulated, and your rooms have windows that open, so artificiallyheated or cooled air can be used as little as possible. Our automatic thermostats further conserve heating/cooling energy, and frequent filter replacements both clean the air and make the HVAC work more efficiently.
- We have done some redecorating, but we’ve done it with recycled materials. But, ALL THE BEDS AND BEDDING were purchased NEW and are regularly given thorough cleaning (including the UNDERSIDES of beds and bedding.
- The soaps and shampoo in our guest rooms are from Greenwich Bay Soaps, (www.gbsoaps.com) which produces gentle, natural, non-animal-tested products, and has a long-standing policy of environmental-awareness.
- We purchase a majority of our produce from local suppliers, we use a fuel-efficient vehicle, and we “bundle” our errands.
- We try to choose products that produce minimal waste in packaging, and we bring home our purchases in re-usable bags.
- We compost a good deal of our food waste, and we understand that by using our garbage disposal for the remainder, we allow the sanitation folks to turn it into fertilizer.
- We continue to use cloth napkins, and/or non-bleached paper products, and of course we recycle paper, plastic, and aluminum.
- We run the dishwasher only when it’s full.
- We use energy-efficient light bulbs, low-flow showers, low-volume toilets, and Energy- Star appliances, including a front-loading clothes washer.
- We use “free and clear” cleaning products.
- We use high-efficiency laundry detergent; and we offer our guests the option to re-use towels; we purchase high-quality cotton linens, which release stains so they do not have to be discarded so frequently. But we DO choose to protect our guests’ health and safety by using HOT water to wash bedding and table linens.
- We welcome your suggestions for further steps we might take, even if we may or may not be in a position to implement every suggestion.
