Paper and Plastic waste to Christmas Décor – It’s a Green Christmas this year at Casino Hotel

• Christmas decors made of upcylced materials like old newspapers, magazines and bottles made by the children of Raksha Special School in Mattanchery adorn Hotel Casino this festive season

• Spiral Christmas trees crafted from magazines, stars from old cartons, baubles from paper and Christmas wreaths with twisted newspaper and colored curls from plastic bottles are some of the special features

Kochi: This Christmas, the Kochi-based CGH Earth Experience Hotels has yet again embarked on a fun activity with a cause by ushering in this festive season with decorations made of used products.  One of CGH Earth’s core values is being sensitive to the environment and such simple and innovative measures go a long way to make that change to better our planet.  Through this initiative, they have turned disposable materials from their hotels like old newspapers, magazines and old bottles to beautifully crafted décor elements.  An idea sparked off by Mr. Jose Dominic, MD & CEO of CGH Earth has seen its 3^rd year, of Christmas with a difference across the group in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Karnataka.

Take for example, Casino Hotel in Willingdon Island, Kochi that has been spearheading this effort within the group.  They have been working with, and training children of Raksha Special School in Mattanchery, to create these eco-friendly and up-cycled Christmas decorations.  “Through this effort we are able to provide an additional income to the children at the school and at the same time engage them in learning a new craft. These innovatively up-cycled décor elements adorn Casino Hotel’s lobby and restaurants to bring in the festive spirit of Christmas,” says George Joseph, General Manager, Casino Hotel.

Today it has become a common feature to see most of the homes embellished and decorated with plastic and non-biodegradable materials.  “It is important that we realize that by doing so we are only adding to problems.  Even if it is a small change it can surely make a huge difference.  Getting family and friends together to create Christmas decorations can be a joyous and enjoyable activity at home this season”, says George.

This year the lobby and restaurants at Casino Hotel have been transformed into a magical setting with  spiral Christmas trees of varying sizes crafted from old magazines, stars from old cartons, baubles from old paper, Christmas wreaths with twisted newspaper and colored curls from old plastic bottles.  A snowman, a reindeer and Santa, table décor from bottles are few of the special features this year. 

The Executive Housekeeper at Casino Hotel, Mr. Anish Joseph and his colleagues across CGH Earth Resorts have been taking up this mission every year and creating new design-marvels every single time.  “We are very pleased with the outcome and delighted to see top quality products being made”, says Mr. George Joseph.  It took Anish 16 hours to hand-craft the Christmas tree single-handedly.  It is a wonder to see the spiral Christmas tree standing tall at 7 feet using no frame for support.  Another stunning installation is the 60 glowing lamps from old magazine paper-strips which resembles a constellation when viewed from below.

The advantage of this up-cycled craft is that it is inexpensive and bio-degradable. Moreover, this is also a cost-effective initiative. The group had spent a very minimal amount when compared to previous years and agrees that the cost saving has been tremendous.

Kochi, for a while, has been swamped with waste management problems that still loom at large. CGH Earth Hotels’ venture, The ‘Green Christmas’ is a sure shot at reducing waste to such a large extent that it is not mere reduction they speak of, but creating beauty from something that would otherwise remain difficult to dispose of.  Visitors and guests at the hotel are completely in awe and have so many questions regarding the initiative, that it has prompted the hotel management to initiate more participation from the general public including kids, by proposing craft workshops in the near future where training and more, can be imparted in crafting such décor.