Waste separation at source and recycling potential of the hotel industry in Hoi An city, Vietnam

This study focuses on assessing the practice of waste separation at source and evaluating the recycling potential of the hotel industry in Hoi An City (HAC), which is a famous tourism city in the centre of Vietnam. Five recycling scenarios were designed based on the status and intention of waste management practices of the hotels and the hierarchical structure of recycling, which was identified by the analytic hierarchy process method. This study revealed that the solid waste management (SWM) system of the hotel industry in HAC has a high potential for developing recycling practices. The high percentage of recyclable materials (84.3%), the achievements of waste separation practices, and the intentions of SWM of the hoteliers are favourable conditions for enhancing recycling practices. Furthermore, this study indicated that recycling could reduce 30–70% of total hotel waste, lead to beneficial changes in waste characterisation for incineration and composting processes, and bring economic profits to the hotels. In addition, recycling strategies with the synchronous combination of improvement of waste separation at source, waste regulation promulgation, and enhancement of waste management motivation for the hotels were discussed.