Coral Lodge was featured in an article recently by the website www.greenlodgingnews.com on their plans to become more environment friendly. Latest plans for this Eco transformation has been the construction of a Bio-digestor. We sit down with Andre Niederhauser Coral Lodge’s part owner/operator to discuss the Bio-digestor (shown in photo collecting sea grass for the Bio-digestor).

-It seems that it is now a trend for hotels and lodges to be more environmentally friendly. Would you say Coral Lodge is leader in that area?

Coral Lodge is one of the few places in Central America to have a Bio-digestor.

-How does this Bio-digestor work exactly?

It basically processes waste and turns it into organic matter. We use 12-13% of water sewage, 60% of kitchen waste and the rest is sea grass collected from the beach and garden waste. We can not add proteins to the Bio-digestor, so we take a different environmental approach and feed it to a pig we keep on property. The pig then produced something that can be feed to the Bio-digestor.

-How long take this process take?

It takes about 45 days or 6 weeks. During this time, the wastes are processed into non damaging organic matter which comes out as either a liquid that can be used as fertilizer or a trapped gas which can be turned into fuel.

-What kind of gas it is that is being produced?

Methane, which is completely safe as it is naturally produced in the environment. This gas can then be used as cooking fuel or even to power a low compression gas generator.

- What other innovative Eco friendly plans does Coral Lodge have?

We are currently converting our pool to use solar power. Also there are future plans that would include using the Bio-digestor produced gas as fuel to power lighting for the beach.

Here is the original article:

ESCRIBANO BAY, PANAMA—Set to premier July 2011, Panama’s Coral Lodge eco-resort will offer families spacious over-the-water bungalows set in a pristine natural setting with coral reefs, golden beaches, a tropical rainforest, and the fascinating Kuna culture. The newest member of the Desires Hotels International collection of independently created boutique hotels, Coral Lodge’s thatch-roof bungalows will have 650 square feet of living space featuring local art.

Coral Lodge will make every effort to preserve and protect its host environment, while working with local people to prove that luxury and conservation are not mutually exclusive. Considered a model for eco-development in the area, every aspect of the lodge has been designed to protect the surrounding eco-system. For example, the toilets will discharge into a Bio Digester that will treat the waste water anaerobically. Ozone will be used instead of detergents in the laundry, and instead of chlorine to purify the drinking water and the swimming pool.

Gardens filled with native plant species and fruit trees that help sustain wildlife, along with the herbs and flowers that are grown for use in the kitchen and hotel, will be maintained without the use of toxic chemicals and fertilized with the resort’s composted kitchen waste. Bath products in the bungalows will feature biodegradable soap and shampoo.

There will be do-not-disturb the marine life guidelines for diving, and catch-and-release fishing policies. Earth Day is the inauguration day for the Bio Digester that will reduce the resort’s carbon footprint by lowering energy consumption by 30 percent, while using seaweed as its primary fuel. Other green initiatives at the resort include the use of solar energy in the new bungalows and the pool.

http://www.greenlodgingnews.com/panamas-coral-lodge-feature-bio-digester-for-waste