In a historic moment for both the environment and the lodging industry, Vantage Hospitality Group announced today that all of its nearly 900 Americas Best Value Inn and Canadas Best Value Inn hotels throughout North America will carry biodegradable packaging in their guest rooms, including shampoo, body lotion and bath soap.

Although the ‘green movement’ has been making steady progress throughout the hotel industry for several years, Americas Best Value Inn is the first national hotel chain to make such a strong and all-encompassing commitment.

“This isn’t just a commitment to the environment, it’s a commitment to our hotel owners and guests,” said Roger Bloss, President and CEO of Vantage Hospitality, which is the 10th largest hotel company worldwide. “Americas Best Value Inn has grown tremendously since we began 10 years ago and we plan to be around for a very long time. Therefore, we need to make sure we maintain the cities and towns where our properties are located and where our guests reside by not contributing unnecessarily to the local landfills.”

The facts are alarming: 3.5 billion bottles and caps go into landfills every year in the U.S. alone; it takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down in a landfill; and 95 percent of plastics are not recycled and wind up in landfills.

To help solve the problem, Vantage has partnered with Concept Amenities, whose products include an organic enzyme called Eco Pure that allows the bottles to biodegrade in a landfill in less than nine years instead of centuries. Americas Best Value Inn properties will begin to carry the biodegradable packaging in March as their current amenity supplies are depleted.

Gary Coward, Senior VP of Concept Amenities, Inc. (USA) stated, “We are excited to launch this truly revolutionary product and pleased to share the stage with Vantage Hospitality and the fastest-growing hotel chain in America. Americas Best Value Inn is the first national brand to offer ERP biodegradable guest amenity products. With over 50,000 active rooms in service, that’s a lot of little amenity bottles and caps each year. We are pleased to know that together, we are having a positive impact on our environment.”