From black sand to fertile soil

The new Icelandair hotel Myvatn is situated in stunning surroundings in what is known as the Northern Lights Capital of Iceland.
Surrounded by exceptional natural phenomena such as huge lava formations and boiling mud holes, the Myvatn area is a popular destination.
The wetlands surrounding Lake Myvatn are registered as wetlands of international importance, due to their unique and rich bird life.

Vulnerable Landscape

Icelandair Hotels takes pride in being a leader in environmentally-friendly hotel management. The chain's hotels are all certified in accordance with the international environmental standard ISO 14001, and must comply with strict energy use and waste volume requirements.

“The nature around Lake Myvatn is unique and vulnerable. That is why we have installed environmentally-friendly toilets which contribute to the protection of the lake and to soil improvement in this fantastic area,”
Hildur Ómarsdóttir, Marketing and Business Development Director, Icelandair Hotels

Water-saving toilets

JETS vacuum toilets use up to 90 per cent less water than traditional flush toilets. Saving water may not seem the most necessary of measures in Iceland, with its many lakes, springs and waterfalls. However, vacuum technology from JETS not only saves clean water from being flushed down the toilet; the amount of sewage, also known as blackwater, is also considerably reduced. A significant reduction in sewage volumes means an increase in emptying intervals of the holding tank, saving both energy and handling costs.
Icelandair Hotels work together with local authorities in order to improve waste management in the area. Jointly, they work on setting goals for cleaning and recycling wastewater and utilising nutrients in blackwater in connection with soil improvement measures.

When nature calls

One of the main threats to the ecosystem in Iceland is the growing desert areas. As a result of historical deforestation, more than 20 per cent of the country is covered by the characteristic black sand. Due to the harsh climate, with winds and volcanic activity, the sand continues to spread. Measures to limit the spread have been an integral part of environmental efforts in Iceland for over a century, and now a tailored Jets^® solution is helping Icelandair Hotel Myvatn to contribute to this important work.

At the Icelandair Hotel Myvatn the solution from Jets Vacuum AS collects blackwater from the hotel’s toilets in a closed tank. In cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI), the tank is emptied by specialised tank trucks, cleaned and transported to a large collection tank near the Holasandur desert. Here, the SCSI works bit by bit to turn the 130 square kilometres desert area of volcanic sand into fertile soil. In summer, the content of the tank is ploughed into to sand as an organic fertiliser. The planting of grass, bushes and trees will contribute to preventing the desert from spreading further on the island.

“And that’s how Icelandair Hotels responds when nature calls: contributing to preservation of the Myvatn ecosystem and the environment and supporting soil improvement measures to prevent that more of the fantastic nature of the area is destroyed by desert”
Hildur Ómarsdóttir

Sustainability is at the core of Jets Vacuum AS’s business idea. With our ground-breaking vacuum technology, we are the preferred supplier to environmentally-friendly and green buildings across the globe. Projects, such as the one in Iceland, demonstrate how our flexible solutions can be tailored to local requirements.