sustainability
OUR COMMITMENT TO
bronze level
tripadvisor green leader
OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
Front Beach Cottages has been committed to sustainable efforts for many years and over the past few years we have been working hard to implement creative ideas for more environmentally friendly lodging. This dedication to the environment has been recognized by our partner, TripAdvisor, by Front Beach Cottages earning the Bronze Level TripAdvisor Green Leader award for the last several years. We believe that energy, water and resource conservation are essential elements for our business, our lives and our community. Some “green” projects we have implemented include greywater recycling, rainwater catchment, household recycling, energy efficient appliances and fixtures and hyper-insulation. Below are short descriptions of some of the initiatives and what we are doing to conserve our precious natural resources.
GREYWATER recycling
Our NOLA Cottage, Bellande Cottage, Key West Cabana and our home are all designed to capture greywater and redistribute it to our garden areas. Greywater is all water that flows down the drain, except for water from kitchen sinks, dishwashers and toilets. Capturing this water and reusing it saves us from having to use fresh water to water our plants and gardens. While this water is not used for our vegetable gardens, it works perfectly for our trees and other plantings. This effective watering system is easy to install and saves a lot of money and resources.
RAINWATER CATCHMENT
Our Key West Cabana captures rainwater in two 55-gallon rain barrels and uses a pump to distribute the captured water to the gardens and fountains. The system utilizes a variety of cleansing methods like a “first flush” so the first rain that comes and washes off the roof is immediately diverted away from the rain barrels and to the garden. The rainwater is then filtered using a simple screen to capture any remaining solids and what enters the rain barrels is ultimately clean rainwater. The climate of south Mississippi provides many opportunities for the rain barrels to fill with water!
household recycling
Each cottage on the property has its own dedicated recycling bin that is picked up every Wednesday morning by the local trash company. Ocean Springs is one of the few Gulf Coast cities with a brisk curbside recycling program, and we are fortunate to be able to participate in recycling glass, plastic, paper and metals.
energy efficient appliances & fixtures
All of our cottages have been outfitted with energy efficient appliances and fixtures. Appliances labeled with the Energy Star logo and fixtures are labeled with the Water Wise logo are considered the gold star for energy and water efficiency. Through these appliances and fixtures, we know we are conserving as much water and energy as possible. We have also installed on-demand water heaters in all of our cottages which have proven to be efficient and effective at providing a sustained flow of hot water for our guests.
hyper insulation & energy efficient windows
The historic cottages at Front Beach Cottages had no insulation in the walls and floors when they were built and very little in the roofs. We have installed blown-in insulation in all the roofs and hyper-insulated the walls. We have also changed all the single-pane windows and doors to dual pane so that we can continue to create airtight envelopes in our cottages. We have also installed insulation under the floors on all the cottages to future provide an efficient environment.