Beijing, China (May 30, 2007) /China Newswire/ — Traders Hotel, Beijing has become one of the first properties in the city to install water-free urinals, saving thousands of litres of fresh water each year and adding to the reality of a "Green Olympics."  As an Olympic Partner Hotel and a leading four star hotel in the capital, the property has placed the environment as a key propriety on its list of preparations for the Games, and is currently installing the environmentally friendly water-free urinals to all male washrooms in public areas.

A replaceable cartridge installed at the bottom of each urinal is attached to a fitting and connected to a drainpipe, and utilises an additional sealant liquid to provide an airtight barrier between the urine and the washroom, allowing the urine to penetrate directly through into the drain.  Uric sediment accumulated by the cartridge leaves an odour-free environment, clean pipes and no water waste.

The hotel spends approximately RMB1 million on "green" products and systems each year, and although no financial gain will be incurred by introducing the urinals, the environmental benefits will be significant.

· Each cartridge will save approximately 151,000 litres of water
· Each 7,000 "flushes" saves 28,000 litres of water
· Water transportation to or away from the urinal to a water treatment facility is eliminated, resulting in energy savings
· No energy need be used for water treatment, therefore production of carbon dioxide emissions as a by product of its treatment is eliminated
· By reducing the load on treatment plants, the system reduces the need for costly water treatment capacity and the incidence of overflow events at treatment facilities

In addition to the water-free urinals, the 570 room hotel has set aside further funds to tackle the acute water shortage in Beijing.  All guestroom toilet tanks have been changed from nine to six litre capacity, automatically saving three litres per flush, and new water saving shower taps have also been installed in all guest rooms decreasing the flow of water from 18 to 14 litres per minute.
"Since 2004 our energy and water consumption figures have decreased dramatically.  It is our aim for these figures to continue dropping, not only in preparation for the Olympics, but for 2008 and beyond," said the hotel's general manager, Teresa Xin.  "We hope that with the installation and implementation of new technologies, such as the water-free urinals, we will encourage other properties to do the same, thus making a significant impact on the city's energy and water consumption." 

INTERNET LINKS

http://www.tradershotels.com

MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS

For digitised pictures of the group's hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently manages 51 hotels under the Shangri-La and Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 24,000.  Traders Hotels are designed to satisfy the needs of the fast growing four-star, mid-market travel segment by offering a comprehensive range of facilities, and swift and friendly service, at competitive rates.  Traders Hotels are located in Beijing, Dubai, Manila, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Shenyang, Yangon, Changzhou and Kunshan, with scheduled openings in Urumqi in mainland China, Macau and Bangalore.  The group has over 40 projects under development in Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.tradershotels.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Anna Storrs
  Assistant Communications Manager
  Traders Hotel, Beijing
  No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue
  Beijing 100004, China
  Tel: (86 10) 6505 2277 ext 6211
  Fax: (86 10) 6505 3276
  E-mail: anna.storrs@shangri-la.com
  Website: http://www.shangri-la.com

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