The Harraseeket Inn—Exemplifying Green

January 21, 2014

The Harraseeket Inn is a member of the Green Hotel Association and a Maine Certified Environmental Leader located in Freeport, Maine. The Inn is located on the Maine coast, where the Harraseeket River meets Casco Bay. The Inn goes beyond just the usual water conservation promotion of encouraging guests to reuse towels and linens. It actively recycles and composts. The Inn doesn’t just practice being green it also promotes it.

The Harraseeket Inn believes that doing business with local purveyors helps the community by keeping its economy strong.  According to the Inn’s owners, their “first priority is purchasing locally grown and harvested foods.”  These practices support local farmers and fishermen, preserving traditional skills and open space, and reduce the energy expended to transport foods from long distances. Their fish primarily comes from the Maine coast (except the salmon, which is wild caught from the Pacific Northwest).  In addition to local and organics foods, the Inn offers low glycemic and gluten free options on their menus as well.

Recycling and Composting at the Inn

The Inn is committed to recycling as much as possible: 

• All plastic bottles and containers
• Cardboard and paper
• Glass bottles and jars
• Metal cans and foil
• Electronics
• Linens, towels, old furniture, and other items which can be reused

All rooms have a recycling bin in them and            housekeeping carts are equipped with a reusable blue bag for collecting the recyclables. The Inn uses a single-stream recycling system where all recyclable products are placed in one ten-yard dumpster to be picked up weekly. Electronics and durable goods are taken to the Freeport transfer station for pickup. Scrap metals and other miscellaneous debris are taken to appropriate locations for resale and recycling.

The Inn’s used fryolator oil is recycled by a local organic farmer who uses it to heat his greenhouses or by converting it to biodiesel for use by the Inn. A 40-gallon biodiesel reactor is used to make 40 gallons of biodiesel a week from used fry oil to operate the Inn’s John Deere tractor, Mercedes station wagon, and Chevrolet pick-up truck.

The Inn composts their kitchen and restaurant food scraps. In fact, two of the Inn’s employees graduated from the renowned Maine Composting School. The Inn composts using two methods. An Earth Tub is used for vegetable scraps only in order to help prevent any odor issues which may arise and to generate compost to use as soil amendment on the Inn’s grounds. Horse bedding and leaves from the Freeport transfer station and the Inn's property are used as carbon sources.  

The Earth Tub cannot handle the quantity of food scraps generated by the Inn’s kitchens, so the remaining materials are taken to a local organic farm—New Leaf Farm. The farmer handles all the seafood and meat scraps, as well as vegetable scraps and landscape materials generated at the Inn. The collected material is transported by the kitchen steward each day to the farm. The Inn purchases produce from the farm to “close the loop.”

Other Environmental Measures

A sophisticated HVAC system at the Inn reclaims waste heat from the refrigerators, walk-in coolers, ice machines, and freezers and uses it to heat the guest rooms and public areas. It can also move heat from the sunny side of the building to cooler rooms on the shady side.

All incandescent light bulbs have been replaced with CFL light bulbs and older T-12 fluorescent lights with T-8 or T-6 lights. When equipment, such as refrigerators or electric motors is replaced, the Inn purchases "Energy Star” compliant equipment.

Low-flow toilets are installed in all guest rooms and restrooms.

The Inn uses no dangerous chemicals or fertilizers on their five acres of grounds. Pet friendly melting agents are used on winter walkways. The flower gardens are planted with Maine heirloom plants and native species, along with culinary herbs for use in the kitchens.

Many of the plastic products used in the restaurants have been replaced with compostable, eco-friendly products, including drinking straws, stir sticks, and to-go containers. Office products used at the Inn are made with recycled materials.  All ware-washing chemicals and housekeeping cleaning supplies are Green Seal Certified.

In Search of a Green Hotel

NERC has been trying to work with its conference venues to adopt greener practices, including recycling and composting. NERC is pleased to find such a green venue as the Harraseeket Inn to host its spring workshop.

NERC's Organics Management in Urban and Rural Areas Workshop will be held on April 15 – 16, at the Harraseeket Inn. The workshop will address the technical and practical aspects associated with developing and maintaining organics management programs in both urban and rural areas. Expert trainers and pertinent sessions will teach and aid attendees to understanding the composting process, potential problems, and available technologies. In addition, hands-on exercises will give attendees the opportunity to solve common problems and to design facilities that avoid potential problems.

NERC has a number of resources for green hotel practices, including Waste Reduction & Green Purchasing at Hotels. Additional information can be found be conducting a search in the Resources section of NERC’s website.

By Athena Lee Bradley