Eco Friendly Lodging and Our Footprint
We care about our home and the environment and are taking steps to make our business as environmentally friendly as possible.
Things we have implemented at Willow Pond Bed and Breakfast to reduce our environmental impact:
We use CFL flourescent bulbs in as many compatible light fixtures as possible.
We have a new energy efficient washer, dryer & dishwasher for laundry & dishwashing, which use less soap and less water. We always wash full loads.
We use phosphate free, eco-friendly detergent for laundry and dishwashing.
We encourage guests to reuse their towels during their stay (at least 2 days) and change bed-linens only between different guests or twice weekly for extended stays, unless the guest requests more frequent changes, to reduce water waste.
We have soap/conditioner dispensers in all of our bathrooms in place of individually wrapped soaps, to cut down on waste. We buy our complimentary all-natural handmade handsoaps from a local soapmaker in
Fruita,
Canyon Spirit Soapworks.
While we offer liquid soap in our dispensers, we no longer use "anti-bacterial" handsoaps, just plain old soap!
While we do have in-room air conditioners for guest use in summer, we use an evaporative cooler to cool the inn which cuts our cooling costs considerably and is efficient enough that many guests choose not to use the air conditioners.
We use our lawn clippings as mulch and compost the remainder. We take our waste to the green waste recycling center when we do our big clean-ups.
We use the fruits from the trees on our property to make foods for our guests! We do not spray our trees or flower beds for insects or weeds.
We buy local produce as it is available and buy from our local farmer's market when it is in season. We buy our eggs and milk from local farms.We grow much of the fruit and veggies and our own herbs for use in our breakfast dishes. We also buy coffee from a local roastery,
Legacy Coffee, an environmentally conscious company.We buy locally harvested honey to serve with tea.
We are making an effort to find and use less toxic cleaning supplies, such as vinegar for window cleaning and commercial cleaning supplies marketed as non-toxic and/or biodegradable.
We use vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters and steam clean our carpets frequently (with water) to help reduce allergens. We do not permit smoking on our property and do not allow our pets in guest areas, to reduce allergens.
We buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste.We FreeCycle:
http://www.freecycle.org/ , we reuse plastic shopping bags and things like canning jars that we get through our local freecycling program.We donate to charity whenever we do our big clean-ups and replace items.We buy items to furnish and refurbish many parts of the inn, including furniture, decor, cooking items, toilets and building supplies,from the
Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Grand Junction. Our purchases go toward helping families in the community.We use "durable service items", a.k.a. reusable dishes, napkins & flatware instead of disposables, to reduce waste.
We have purchased a water cooler and have eliminated bottled water in our refreshment area.
We encourage our guests to conserve energy during their stay by lowering the thermostat, turning off lights and air-conditioners if they are leaving the inn for an extended period of time. We have low-flow shower heads and toilets.
We recycle our plastics, glass, cans and newspapers.
We are looking into more eco-friendly energy solutions for the inn.
