NAPLES, Fla. - When you think of the Ritz Carlton, the words elegance, lavish, and luxurious might come to mind. But what about conservation, recycling and organic?

"I think we're just being more environmentally conscious. It's a start and I think every little bit helps," says employee Michelle Kelthy.

From recycling plastic, glass, and paper....

"We've reached the 500,000 pound mark on recycling already," says engineer Ian Ward.

To recycling water...

"We're recycling between 68 and 70 percent of the water that goes into our laundry."

Ward says the water is cleaned and used to do more laundry.

"What it gives us is here between 800,000 and a million gallons of water recycled a month."

The Ritz took the green concept to the kitchen where the soup tureens are heated by recycled steam produced from the boiler used in the laundry.

When it comes to breakfast, lunch and dinner, even cocktails, the herbs, spices and mint leaves used in the dishes are grown in their own garden.

"We're not just ordering stuff in to have it on hand. We're coming right out to the garden and saying this is the amount we need," says Chef Nathan Lingle.

Lingle says the guests love the organic part.

The Ritz is just getting started. They have a full time employee who's sole job is to find ways to conserve energy and be more eco-friendly.

"I think our generation as we grow older we see what kind of affect we're going to have on our world and on our environment," says Ward.

This Friday the Ritz Carlton will receive a special designation from the Department of Environmental Protection for it's green status. It joins a number of other green hotels in Southwest Florida.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/greenlodging/