The fate of your hotel bed linens may be the last thing on your mind after a trip, but it turns out a small stain could send them straight to a landfill. High school student Aditya Jain is working to change that through his organization, Hotels for Humanity.
As Virginia television station WAVY reported, Jain realized the hotel industry had a waste problem during his summer internships for Landmark Hotel Group, a management company whose portfolio includes major brands such as Marriott, Hilton, and InterContinental.
One day, the 16-year-old saw a bucket stuffed with linens, and he asked what would become of them. He found out the linens were at risk of ending up in the trash.
"They told me this was the rewash pile, where anything that has a small stain or a little rip will go into and it will be rewashed to see if it can be cleaned out and used," Jain told WAVY. "If it can't, then it has to be thrown away."
The realization prompted him to research hotel industry waste.
He was shocked to find that the world wastes more than 1.5 million tons of sheets, pillowcases, and towels each year, with hotels one of the most significant contributors, according to the Remade Institute. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the situation may be more dire, with the United States alone discarding 1.5 million tons of linens in 2018.
Jain believes there's a more sustainable and compassionate way forward. He founded Hotels for Humanity to help keep linens out of methane-generating landfills — and get them into the hands of people and organizations who need them.
Hotels that partner with Hotels for Humanity pass their unwanted linens to a collection team, which then sorts and distributes the items. Jain said he tries to get the linens to homeless shelters first and that they go to animal shelters if the items aren't acceptable for use there.
Jain's classmates at Norfolk Academy have also gotten involved. "Twice a month, I come together with a group of students in some special programs, and we fold everything," Jain told WAVY. "We sort through what can be given to homeless shelters and what can't."
Their efforts underscore how working toward a more sustainable future doesn't have to be complicated — and can begin right at home. Supporting conservation organizations is another way to make an impact in the wider world.
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Not buying food I don't need 🧐 Those interested in connecting with Hotels for Humanity can complete a form on the organization website. Jain also told WAVY that he is working to grow the initiative.
"We're reaching out to more hotels and more nonprofits that I can give to, but I think long-term, I want this to be a project where, even when I'm graduated from high school, I'm in college, my school and some people I've worked with already can take this project and just keep it running," he said. "Honestly, it warms my heart because this is a win-win project in every way."
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