On behalf of luxury experiential travel company andBeyond, we are delighted to share that since its reopening on 1st July for the winter season, andBeyond Vira Vira’s sustainability initiatives have been taken a notch higher. In just a couple of months, we were able to completely remove single-use plastics from all the rooms of the lodge, and we successfully changed our entire wastewater disposal infrastructure to become more sustainably efficient.
PLASTIC-FREE ROOMS
Since Vira Vira started as an andBeyond property last year, many changes were put into place to reduce the use of plastic at the lodge, such as the implementation of a brand new water bottling plant which allowed us to replace all water bottles with our own engraved glass bottles in all the villas and suites of the lodge.
The next most important and final step to completely remove single-use plastic from the rooms has been the replacement of all bathroom amenities with new glass bottles filled with organic products. For several months, we locally searched for the best organic products for our guests, which we would be filling our new glass bottles with.
We have now replaced all bathroom amenities with brand new glass bottles, working with a local provider which have created lemongrass scented products entirely made of organic components, a great achievement that we proudly show to our guests as an example of our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint, to support local businesses, and to actively work towards making the world a better place.
NEW WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
Over the last season, we quickly realised the importance of implementing a proper sustainably efficient wastewater disposal system which would not only reduce negative impact in the area but would also be beneficial for our own operations.
After several months of planification and more than 2 months of adjustments to the existing infrastructure, along with the construction and implementation of a new treatment plant, we were able to successfully switch our operations to our new wastewater disposal system, now 100% operational.
The idea behind this new project is to recuperate and reuse the dirty waters generated at the lodge, focusing on preserving and improving the natural capital of our ecosystems, optimising the use of our own resources, and fomenting the efficiency of the new system in place.
All residual waters of the lodge are sent to the main treatment plant where they go through a purification process consisting of biochemical oxidation with activated muds, and an intense oxygenation in an anaerobic reactor, before going through a coloration process in its final stage. The treated water is then sent through an irrigation system towards the surrounding fields within the property.
After just one month of operation, we were already able to witness a natural change on the field, with greener grass growing around the sprinklers, a positive result of clean water rich in minerals. We are now planning on extending the underground irrigation system to reuse the treated water in other areas of the property, especially in areas were baby native trees have been planted, part of our reforestation project in place.
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