BACKGROUND:
The Phuket Hotels Association (PHA) is dedicated to promoting the island as a quality destination for international travelers from all walks of life.
Today, PHA has over 70 members comprising small boutique hotels to large international chains who have joined together to promote the island as Brand Phuket, to raise money to educate local Phuket residents though the association’s scholarship fund, and assist and educate with the environmental best practices to reduce any harmful impact that tourism has on the island.
In October 2019, PHA engaged two Master of Environmental Science and Technology students from RMIT University in a project to examine the status of waste management practices at hotels in Phuket. The project focused on single-use plastic waste and recognized food waste as an important issue for the hotels to tackle with in 2020.
PROJECT AIM:
This project aims to improve food waste management practices at PHA’s member hotels. The project consists of two parts:
Part 1: Review of food waste management practices at the participating hotels in Phuket. The review should cover, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Waste collection and disposal;
- Weights or volume (MASS);
- Handling & sorting;
- Auditing;
- Staff and Visitors’ awareness;
- Policy and guidelines from the hotels and local authorities.
Part 2: Developing guidelines for food waste management at hotels in Phuket:
- Identify areas for improvement
- Set a benchmark for food waste management practice
- Recommendations
DELIVERABLES:
| No. | Main Deliverable | Description | Estimated Timing |
| 1 | Project Plan | Students discuss with PHA and university academic supervisors about a detailed project plan. | February 2020 |
| 2 | Literature Review | Students work under their academic supervisors to review relevant literature. | March – April 2020 |
| 3 | Data Collection/ Site visit | A trip to Phuket
Students collect data through a fieldtrip to Phuket with support from PHA and its member hotels.
Students present initial observations and discuss best practices at a seminar/workshop at the end of the fieldtrip. |
1-14/7/2020 |
| 4 | Data Analysis | Students analyses data and develop guidelines for food waste management at hotels in PHA. | July – September 2020 |
| 5 | Draft report | Draft Report | September 2020 |
| 6 | Final report | Final Report | October 2020 |
| 7 | Presentation | Presentation on research findings. | October 2020 |
Note: The outcomes and recommendations should be simple, economically viable and well documented with photographs, so it is easy for other hotels to adopt as “best practices”.
WORK METHOD:
- Students will be selected from relevant Honours and Masters programs at RMIT.
- RMIT academic supervisors help students identify learning objectives at the start of the project, provide them with technical advice during the project implementation, and evaluate their work at the end of the project.
- PHA will appoint the contact person who help students access to data at the hotels in Phuket.
FUNDING/FELLOWSHIP:
- RMIT University will help Australian students access travel grants to fly to Phuket and cover the insurance for the students during the time they stay in Phuket to implement this project.
- Possible funding will be sourced from PHA members to cover local cost such as food, transportation, accommodation and other related costs in Phuket.
DESIRED STUDENT ATTRIBUTES:
Selection criteria includes:
- Relevant experience and background in waste management
- Ability to conduct research including field surveys
- Customer service and communications skills (need to communicate with different people)
SELECTION PROCESS:
- Students being interested in this projects and meet the above attributes are required to submit their CVs and academic transcript to nguyen@rmit.edu.au
