SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 2 April. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A total of seventeen hotel establishments in Tenerife are taking part in the ‘Circular Tourist Communities’ (CTC) project, a circular economy initiative spearheaded by Ashotel and Asaga Canarias. This project focuses on converting biowaste and pruning remains into biological compost at Finca del Balo, operated by Serviagroc. To date, the project has successfully transformed over 1,200 tons of biowaste into approximately 400 tons of compost.
On Tuesday, the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, visited the farm along with Ana Dorta, the Mayor of Guia de Isora; José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, the Mayor of Adeje; Blanca Pérez, the Minister of the Environment at Cabildo of Tenerife; Jorge Marichal, President of Ashotel; Ángela Delgado, President of Asaga Canarias; Narvay Quintero, Minister of Agriculture; Jéssica de León, Minister of Tourism, and other officials.
Participating hotels in the project include MYND Adeje, Tropical Park, Atlantic Holiday, Hard Rock Tenerife, RIU Buenavista, RIU Palace Tenerife, H10 Costa Adeje Palace, Guayarmina Princess, Coral Ocean View, Jardines de Nivaria, Royal Sunset Beach Club, Vincci La Plantation del Sur, Bahía Príncipe Sunlight Tenerife, Bahía del Duque, GF Gran Costa Adeje, Iberostar Bouganville Playa, and HOVIMA Costa Adeje.
Juan Pablo González, the manager of Ashotel, presented key project data. The initiative, which has been in progress for nearly two years, aims to convert kitchen biowaste (such as fruit peels, vegetables, and coffee grounds) and pruning remains from hotels into high-quality compost. This compost is suitable for soil regeneration, predominantly in municipal gardens, hotels, and agricultural farms, thereby preventing the need for burial at the Arico environmental complex.
Angélica Guillén, the Sustainability Manager at Iberostar in the Canary Islands, shared insights from the hotel’s perspective, stating that the project posed a significant challenge for the company. She emphasized the importance of collaboration in such projects and highlighted the necessity of staff training.
The project is featured as a success story in the Guide to Good Circular Economy Practices promoted by destinations and tourism companies, prepared by the State Commercial Society for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (Segittur), a public entity under the Secretary of State for Tourism.
Fernando Clavijo, the President of the Canary Islands, underscored the synergies between sectors, stating that the tourism industry, as a leader in the archipelago, combined with the primary sector, plays a crucial role in the territory. He described the initiative as smart tourism that effectively distributes wealth. Clavijo emphasized the importance of all administrations supporting such projects to address negative impacts generated by tourism on the territory. He also highlighted the significant economic contribution of tourism, which represents just 4% of the territory but generates €22 billion in wealth and provides 1 million jobs.
