The prospects of waste management in the hospitality sector post COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 has imposed significant detrimental effects on the global hospitality sector. These effects have primarily been considered from the socio-economic perspective, ignoring the implications of the pandemic for the environmental performance of hospitality services. By drawing upon emerging evidence from various academic and non-academic sources, this conceptual paper critically evaluates the implications of the preventative and protective measures adopted against COVID-19 for the generation of the hospitality sector's food and plastic waste. The implications are divided into direct and indirect and considered through the prism of temporality of their anticipated occurrence (immediate, short-term and medium-term perspective). The paper proposes potential strategies to aid in the management of these wastes in the hospitality sector in a post-pandemic world. To address the issue of food waste, the hospitality sector should be integrated into alternative food networks (AFNs) and short food supply chains (SFSCs). Business coopetition between hospitality enterprises and other actors of the food supply chain is necessary for the success of such integration. To address the issue of plastic waste, the hospitality sector should invest in 'green' innovation. This investment needs to be encouraged and supported by targeted policy interventions. The paper argues that these strategies are critical not only in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will also remain valid for the sustained development of the hospitality sector in light of future disastrous events, especially climate change. The paper discusses the institutional and organisational prerequisites for the effective implementation of these strategies and highlights the related research opportunities.

Keywords: Business coopetition; COVID-19 pandemic; Food waste; Plastic waste; Solid waste; ‘Green’ innovation.

Fig. 1

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on generation of wastes in the hospitality sector. Source: Authors’ own elaboration.

Fig. 2

Traditional (a) and novel (b) models of food supply chains for hospitality services in a post-COVID-19 world (illustrative and not to scale). Source: Authors’ own elaboration.

Fig. 3

An action framework for the more effective management of food waste in the hospitality sector in a post-pandemic world. Source: Authors’ own elaboration.

Fig. 4

An action framework for the more effective management of plastic waste in the hospitality sector in a post-pandemic world. Source: Authors’ own elaboration.