Green Features at The Waring House
Waring House Restaurant & Inn has signed the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge to demonstrate our commitment to improving the sustainability performance of our business between the present day & the year 2030.
In keeping with the UN World Tourism Organization's definition of Sustainable Tourism as: tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts - while addressing the needs of the industry, the environment, and host communities. Waring House will commit to measuring and improving our sustainability, with these current practices:
- Waring House is Feast On certified with the Ontario Culinary Alliance. It has qualified for certification by reaching the required percentage of locally sourced food and beverages for service in its restaurants
- Quaker Lodge and Heritage Lodge are entirely heated and air-conditioned with geothermal technology. Each room is thermostatically controlled. A series of heat exchange systems either draw heat from extensive tubing laid under the earth's surface or expel heat back into this system of glycol-filled tubing to return to the earth.
- Likewise, heating hot water has been undertaken in an earth-friendly manner with solar pre-heating of all hot water in buildings
- Niagara water-efficient (6 liters per flush, 54% less water), “flapper-less” toilets designed by Phil Hennessy from Prince Edward County
- Both Lodges and our banquet hall are serviced by a Waterloo bio-filter system which returns water to the tile bed with a very low nitrate count even before it goes into the tile bed
- The 'Bee Kind' products we offer in our guest rooms are environmentally friendly and help support bee husbandry with cashback going to support bee wellness research. The containers are biodegradable materials
- Lights in the Lodges and throughout the property use LED low-energy bulbs and many are dimmable. All bulbs have now been replaced or will be very soon.
- The mattresses have very long life spans and have zippered replacement pillow toppers
- We do not have water bottles in our guest rooms as we are on a perfectly safe water system in Picton and want to avoid harsh plastics
- We grow our own vegetables to supply to both of our on-site restaurants (during the growing season) and source what we cannot grow from local farmers and market gardens within five minutes from the Inn. Our Chefs source what they can from upwards of 40 local suppliers
- We do not use herbicides or pesticides. Many people thoroughly enjoy our annual display of dandelions which we allow to flourish as an early source of pollen for bees and other pollinators that visit our grounds and gardens
- We recycle wherever and whenever we can - we are working on plans for comprehensive composting and zero food waste in our kitchen
- In 2022, 15 beehives were installed on the property by a local beekeeper. The hives are located between our gardens and fields. We choose to plant bee and butterfly-friendly plants in our gardens
- The white Adirondack-style chairs on the grounds are made in Canada of recycled plastics
- Ozone oxidization and sanitation are used in the Waring House laundry facility, thus reducing energy consumption and decreasing our carbon footprint
- Energy efficient, electric fireplaces
- A septic system using a bio-filter system – the water that leaves it and goes into the tile bed is almost potable, vastly lowering the nitrate load in the surrounding soil
In addition, Waring House is committed to the following:
- Enhanced support of local food producers, maintaining our membership with Feast On, and further development of improving sustainability
- Support a workplace and hospitality tourism facility that provides equal opportunity, a safe work environment, and strong sustainability goals within our power