Reduce Waste. Save Money. Simplify Sustainability.

Waste Free Tahoe helps hotels, resorts, hospitals, and complex facilities cut waste and hauling costs through practical, hands-on waste reduction, starting with a simple walkthrough.

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About Waste Free Tahoe

Practical sustainability for organizations that serve the public.

Waste Free Tahoe is a boutique sustainability consulting firm specializing in waste reduction for hospitality, healthcare, higher education, and other complex facilities.
We combine deep operational experience with on-the-ground walkthroughs, staff engagement, and clear, actionable recommendations, so you can reduce waste, lower costs, and improve your sustainability performance without overwhelming your team.

A simpler way to start reducing waste.

Our Approach

Most organizations don’t need a full waste audit to get started. You need a clear view of what’s happening on the ground and a few targeted actions that make an immediate difference.

Step 1 – Waste Reduction Jumpstart

We start with a facility walkthrough and a few focused conversations with key staff to understand how waste is actually created and handled day-to-day. Within days, you receive a concise summary of findings and a prioritized list of quick-win actions you can start right away.

You get:

  • Walkthrough findings and observations

  • 30–60 day action plan

  • Immediate cost and waste reduction opportunities

Step 2 – Implementation Support

This can include:

  • New or improved waste signage

  • Optimized bin placement and station layouts

  • Staff training for front-of-house and back-of-house teams

  • Coordination with haulers and vendors

  • Ongoing troubleshooting and refinement


    Goal: Make it easy for your team to do the right thing every day.

If you’d like support putting the recommendations into practice, we stay involved as your hands-on partner.

Step 3 – Waste Audit & Action Plan

After you’ve had time to implement changes and build momentum, we can conduct a full waste audit to quantify your progress and uncover deeper opportunities.

The audit provides:

  • Measured diversion and landfill rates

  • Detailed breakdown of materials

  • Additional savings and efficiency opportunities

  • The foundation for a longer-term Waste Action Plan

You choose when you’re ready for this step, it’s not a prerequisite to getting started.

Start now

Who we work with

For facilities where waste is everyone’s responsibility.

We specialize in complex, public-facing operations where waste comes from many directions: guests, patients, staff, visitors, students, and vendors.

We work with:

  • Hotels and resorts

  • Ski resorts and mountain operations

  • Hospitals and healthcare campuses

  • Medical office buildings and large clinics

  • Universities and schools

  • Restaurants and food service operations

  • Event venues and convention centers

  • Manufacturing and large facilities with significant waste streams

Learn how we help your industry

Why Waste Free Tahoe

Hands-on, operational, and realistic.

  • Boutique, 1:1 consulting
    You work directly with a sustainability expert who understands operations, not a rotating team from a large firm.

  • Immediate improvements, not endless analysis
    We focus first on practical changes you can make right away to reduce waste and costs.

  • Tailored to your facility
    Every recommendation is based on your layout, your staff, your hauler, and your waste streams — not a generic checklist.

  • Cost and efficiency focused
    Waste reduction is not just “green”; it can lower waste hauling costs, improve workflows, and support your brand.

  • Staff-friendly
    We design systems that real people can follow, even on the busiest days.

  • Local mindset, scalable impact
    Based in the Tahoe region, serving organizations across the U.S.

What’s Possible

When you take waste seriously, the numbers add up.


In hospitality: Hotels that track and reduce food waste have achieved savings of up to $7 for every $1 invested, while significantly lowering their landfill tonnage.

In healthcare: Hospitals that improved waste segregation and container placement have reduced regulated medical waste by 30–40%, cutting disposal costs and compliance risk.

In large facilities: Campuses and plants that upgraded signage and bin layouts have increased diversion rates by 50% or more within a year.


Guides & Toolkits

Not ready to commit yet?

We get it, starting something new can be scary.

We promise we’ll make it seem really easy, and in the meantime…

Check out our guides and toolkits to help you start your zero waste journey, wherever you are.

These guides have been created based on our extensive expertise and experience and client success stories.

Carefully following these steps will get you 80% of the way there.

Cover of the Zero Waste Toolkit report by Waste Free Tahoe, presented to operations leaders by María Lopez Godoy, dated September 2024. Features an image of hands holding a moss-covered sphere over grass. Contact details provided at the bottom.
GET OUR GUIDES AND TOOLKITS HERE