All small island tourism is dependent upon the quality of the
country’s natural resources, namely its native flora and fauna,
beaches and coastal waters; thus efforts to promote environmentally
responsible tourism have become widely embraced (Sealey
and Cushion, 2009). Benchmarking is the process of comparing
one’s business performance metrics to industry best practices. Solid
waste benchmarking includes understanding the amount of waste
generated (in tonnes) and the composition of that waste (in recoverable
categories such as plastics, glass, electronics, hazardous
wastes, compostable materials, aluminum, etc.). Dimensions typically
measured are quantity (weight) over time as well as the cost
to collect, haul and process the waste. Benchmarking is used to
measure performance using a specific indicator such as tonnes of
waste produced per month, or cost per tonne for disposal; recycling
targets are set based on benchmarking (Firdaus and Ahmad, 2010).