Businesses have to deal with the environment. The Establishments and activities Decree BES (IAB BES) and the Ministrial regulation establishments and activities BES (RIA BES) lays down environmental rules for all businesses in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Hospitality

Catering companies, such as hotels, restaurants, cafes and similar companies have an impact on the environment. These include, for example, the preparation of food, the use of a generator, cooling installations or swimming pool. The rules are about combating environmental pollution

On this page:

What you need to know about the rules for a hospitality business:

Explanation of the activity

Activities of hotels, restaurants, cafes (horeca) and similar companies have to do with the environment. It involves preparing food, using a generator, cooling installations or swimming pool. Other activities that occur in the hospitality industry may also have to do with the environment and the environment. For example, making noise, waste water, odor, energy and waste. There are rules for these activities.

Notification

A hospitality business is usually a type 2 establishment. This means that you have to report to the Executive Council 4 weeks before the start or change of your hospitality business. In case of change, a notification is only necessary if a deviation from previously provided data arises. More information about notification can be found on the Notification page.

Which rules apply

The most common activities in the hospitality industry that are subject to environmental regulations are the preparation of food products, the use of a generator (heating plant), cooling installation or terrace. In addition, there are rules for waste, waste water and noise.

To counteract odour nuisance, there must be an extractor hood. The extracted baking vapors must be disposed of via a drain pipe above the roof.

A refrigeration system must be maintained. You can find more information about this on the cooling system page.

Waste must be stored separately within the company in paper and cardboard on the one hand, and glass on the other. You should have waste disposed of as often as necessary by an authorised collector. There should be no odour nuisance of the waste.

Waste water from the kitchen must be passed through a grease separator. After that, this water can be drained to the sewer. If there is no sewage at your company, the waste water must be disposed of to a septic tank. Other waste water should also be disposed of to the sewer or a septic tank. The waste water may be temporarily discharged to a cesspool. Transitional law applies to this.  This is set out in Article 4.1.1 of the RIA BES.

Environmental permit

No environmental permit is required for typical catering activities. However, a catering company may need an environmental permit for another reason.

For example, one reason may be that you own the following:

  • a generator with a rated power greater than 20 kW
  • a refrigeration plant with a capacity per installation exceeding 1,500 kilograms of ammonia or
  • a refrigeration plant with a capacity per installation exceeding 100 kilograms of propane, butane or a mixture of propane and butane

Also, a hotel with 10 rooms or more located in a sensitive area, such as a protected area designated in the spatial development plan, or in a buffer zone of a sensitive area requires an environmental permit. The descriptions of what a sensitive area or buffer zone is sensitive are set out in Article 1.1 of the IAB BES.

Annex 1 of the IAB BES lists all activities for which you must apply for an environmental permit. Sometimes an environmental impact report is also required when applying for an environmental permit. This is the case with the example of the hotel.

More information can be found on the Environmental Permit page and the Environmental Impact Assessment page.

Checklist

  • Is a grease separator installed for the waste water from the kitchen?
  • Have measures been taken to reduce odour nuisance in homes?

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