It’s not quite up there in the ranks of July 4th fireworks and New Year’s events, but Las Vegas casinos’ recycling policies has long been a QoD FAQ. We tackled the food aspect of this in April 2007 and can confirm that a total of 16 hotels, including the Hard Rock, Horseshoe, Planet Hollywood, Caesars, MGM Grand, Mirage, Harrah’s, Orleans, Stratosphere, Tropicana, Venetian, Riviera, Sahara, Fitzgeralds, Bellagio, and the Golden Nugget donate all their leftover food to be used as pig feed for RC Farms in North Las Vegas.
Without this, more than 30 million pounds of food last year would simply have gone to waste in a landfill somewhere. The farm accounted for a full third of all the solid waste that was recycled in Clark County in 2006, including six tons of jack-o-lantern pumpkins from the community after Halloween, a tradition they’ve been practicing for 15 years now and continued in 2007. Without the farm, our rate of 19% would have fallen much shorter of a state and national goal of recycling 25% of all solid waste.
As far as other recycling is concerned, we’ve attempted to tackle the broader subject before, but prior to this date we had trouble getting any up-to-date data, despite calls to numerous relevant agencies and the casinos themselves. Up until now, the only comprehensive study of the topic we’re aware of was a thesis written a decade ago by Darlene M. Cartier for her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies at UNLV. Titled, "Recycling at Work: Waste Reduction and Recycling in the Las Vegas Hospitality Industry," Ms. Cartier’s study involved working closely with numerous hotels and restaurants and she obtained fascinating and detailed data, some of which we’ll précis below. It’s an excellent source of information, but no one seems to have done anything comparable since.
According to the thesis, here’s how the land(fill) lay in 1997:
Ms. Cartier’s study coincided with the genesis of recycling programs in the hotel-casino industry and she found that a number of factors had steered the major Strip and downtown properties toward becoming greener. One of the foremost reasons, not surprisingly, was economic. Back in 1996-97, for example, Harrah’s started paying $6,700 per month for a local recycling firm to provide round-the-clock waste sorting, which they estimated saved the property an additional $50,000 a year in avoided waste-hauling fees.
An added bonus of the waste-sorting process, in which recyclable materials are separated from pure waste, is the recovery of large quantities of silverware, linens, plates, salt and pepper shakers, and other valuable items, collectively known as unintended throwaways, that unintentionally end up in the hotels' garbage.
A decade ago, Harrah’s was saving more than $60,000 per year in recovered materials, which are inventoried and returned to the hotel for cleaning and reuse. Similarly, Treasure Island was saving an estimated $55,000 per year in recovered materials and in 1996 alone, the California hotel downtown recovered 72,792 pieces of silverware, dishes, , linens, and other items of value -- and that’s for a hotel with only 781 rooms. In 1997, Bally’s was recycling cardboard, aluminum, plastics, and food waste, but not glass, due to the poor market for recycled glass back then. The Hilton was recycling cardboard, aluminum, plastics, and glass, but not food. The MGM Grand was recycling all of the above and had reduced its waste-hauling fees by almost 40% as a result, as was the Monte Carlo (then one of the newer hotels, which was designed with recycling needs in mind from the beginning). Texas Station and the Santa Fe (before its Station days) were both recycling, though not food waste.
Since this study was completed, a great deal has happened, both in terms of the expansion and growing corporatization of Las Vegas and in terms of society’s attitudes toward recycling and the environment. While Ms. Cartier was generally dealing with individual properties on a one-on-one basis, we found ourselves trying to extract general information from what have since amalgamated into huge multi-property groups, which turned out to be a much harder task (as suspected, which explains why it’s taken us so long to tackle this subject).
Nevertheless, we persevered and through numerous phone calls to public-relations, risk-management, facilities, and warehouse departments, we were able to put together at least a partial up-to-date picture.
Here's what we learned:
When renovation projects take place at a property, efforts are made to retrieve any recyclable materials, including diamond plating, steel studs, copper, steel, base metals, and stainless steel cabinets. They also recycle used batteries, including diesel batteries from generators, fluorescent light bulbs, and even leftover paint. At several MGM Mirage properties, they’ve changed out existing light bulbs in parking structures for light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, which are much more energy efficient, cause less light pollution, and are easier on the eye. This is an ongoing program that should eventually be extended to all their parking structures.
On the subject of light, the Luxor spotlight underwent an energy-efficiency revamp back in 2000. The installation of new 94% reflectors (as opposed to the old 77% ones) significantly reduced the amount of light "lost" in the fixture. The reflectors are computer-designed curved mirrors that collect the light from the lamps and focus it into a narrow beam. The increased efficiency meant they could reduce the number of these 7,000 watt xenon lamps from 45 to 39, while increasing the total candle power generated. They also changed to a new longer-life lamp (1,600 hours each, as opposed to 500 hours) and introduced some logistical moves that also allowed more light out of the building. Now granted, a 42.3- billion-candle-power lightbeam that serves no practical purpose (aside from attracting insects that keep our local bat population well fed -- see QoD 4/18/07) can hardly be designated environmentally friendly, but at least it’s a little more amiable than it used to be.
A conversation with the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) also confirmed that all the water at the group’s outdoor attractions, including the Bellagio fountain show, "Sirens of TI" show, and Mirage volcano all use recycled water. In the case of the latter two, it’s actually managed on-property with their own water-treatment facilities and much of the water used is theirs, from ground rights they own. Amazing though it may seem, apparently the casino-resorts are responsible for only 3% of Southern Nevada’s water consumption, with the bulk of usage –- and wastage –- attributable to residential properties and local businesses.
MGM Mirage has also registered its CityCenter project for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings and recognizes performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Only once the project’s completed can its compliance with the various credited criteria be assessed, but it’s a good thing to aspire to.
* 150,000 gallons annually of kitchen grease are converted into bio-diesel from this property alone. * Overall recycling efforts at Red Rock save approximately 30 filled-trash trucks from going to landfills each month.
On the water-saving front, the SNWA was able to confirm that the entire Station group has also just signed up for their Linen Exchange Program. Participating hotels agree to only change linens and towels once every three days during a guest’s stay unless otherwise requested, which can result in water savings of 50 gallons per room each day and as much as a 30% less in laundry costs.
Station restaurants are also participating in the Water Upon Request program, by which water is only served to those patrons who ask for it. (We can verify this for one eatery, at least: During a visit to Hachi a couple of weekends ago, we were all asked if we wanted water or not, which we didn’t.) It might sound like a small gesture, but for every glass of water not served, as much as 1.5 to more than 3 gallons of water are saved, since it also cuts down on ice consumption, water-cooling mechanisms, and dishwashing, as well as the glass of water itself. Approximately 300 restaurants across the Valley are now participating in this program, including those at other casino properties like the Palms.
Like MGM Mirage, Boyd has registered its new Echelon Place project for LEED certification.
* Raising awareness for employees, including demonstrating practical everyday steps that will reduce waste and explain why this is necessary. * Reviewing consumables and finding practical solutions for purchasing environmentally friendly and recycled products. For example, earth-friendly cleaning products (BioKleen) are used by their Environmental Services department. * Evaluating effective energy-conservation possibilities. Some immediate results: Kitchen oil is being recycled with pick-up by a local recycling company. * A percentage of Las Vegas Hilton’s total office-supply purchases include recycled products. * Las Vegas Hilton employees currently use recycled copy paper. * Many departments scan documents and recycle plastic water bottles and soda cans. * Incandescent lighting is being replaced with fluorescent lighting in the hotel rooms and bathrooms.
Examples of some of the group-wide initiatives being taken include switching to automated water faucets and low-flow shower heads and toilets. Like the Hilton, they’re using environmentally friendly cleaning fluids and recycling everything from waste oils and batteries to inkjet cartridges, plus the usual metals, cardboards, paper, glass, and food waste (which goes to feed the pigs). Conservation projects at the corporate level alone have reduced energy consumption by more than 100 million kilowatt-hours per year –- enough electricity to power nearly 10,000 U.S. homes.
As far as examples at hotel-casino properties are concerned, on Nov. 15 -- America Recycles Day -- Harrah's Mid-South Region announced the implementation of a recycling and conservation program for their three casino and hotels in Tunica, Miss.: Grand Casino Resort, Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, and Sheraton Casino & Hotel, which they expect will divert 150 to 200 tons of waste per month from landfills.
Here in Las Vegas, the Imperial Palace is undergoing a major lighting retrofit right now and the new tower at Caesars has been registered for LEED certification, so will be incorporating the same conservation-conscious and environmentally friendly concepts as City Center and Echelon Place. Over at the Rio, almost two miles of incandescent light bulbs in the convention center have been switched out for energy-efficient alternatives.
These are just a few examples and similar initiatives are taking place throughout the group nationwide in relation to guest rooms, public areas, parking structures, and outdoor lighting, with the widespread introduction of LED, cold-cathode, linear fluorescent, and compact fluorescent alternatives to incadescent lighting, plus motion sensors and other energy-saving controls. Motion-activated thermostats are also being introduced to guest rooms and suites, where air-conditioning/heating will be subtly regulated depending upon whether there’s someone in the room who needs to be cooled/warmed or not.
One of the projects the company’s most proud of is a five-megawatt co-generation facility that's been installed at the Rio, where electricity is generated and used on site and waste heat is recaptured for hot-water requirements. It’s one of the cleanest-burning natural-gas co-generation facilities in the nation and generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 2,000 Las Vegas homes. They're also utilizing heat exchangers that use cold outside air for water and air-cooling purposes.
By reducing the burning of fossil fuels, Harrah's has reduced carbon-dioxide emissions by more than 110 million pounds per year -– equivalent to taking nearly 11,000 passenger cars off the road or planting and growing 1.3 million tree seedlings for 10 years.
They have all kinds of interactive exhibits that offer information and ideas on how to be environmentally friendlier, particularly in a desert environment, including a life-size garbage truck made of recycled materials inside and out. It’s actually a theater where you sit on trash-can chairs to view a movie about what happens to your trash once it leaves the curbside, plus there’s a "compost crawl" where young visitors can learn about fertilizer by crawling through a tunnel of foam-sculpted compost, and an interactive "smart-shopping" game.
The current outdoor Christmas "Winter Lights" exhibit consists of lighting up the eight-acre garden with a half-million LEDs, which consume 90% less electricity than conventional displays, while another of the seasonal projects they’re involved with is the seventh annual Las Vegas Christmas Tree Recycling Program, which begins Wednesday December 26. Las Vegans can choose from 19 locations to drop off their Christmas trees to for recycling through January 15. Last year, valley residents recycled more than 10,000 trees through the program. This year’s recycling goal is 15,000 trees. When chipped into mulch, cut trees are reused as valuable organic material in landscaping projects that help conserve soil moisture and provide nutrients for plants, plus recycling the trees also reduces the volume of waste going into landfills. For more information on this and tips on environmentally-friendly holiday lighting, visit www.springspreserve.org
They do say they remain committed to minimizing the use of water, and to that end, have incorporated desert landscaping in the area surrounding the office and facilities. "Our long-standing commitment to desert landscaping is, perhaps, best illustrated by our three-acre Botanical Cactus Garden, which remains a popular destination for visitors throughout the year. In addition, we are currently examining the feasibility of alternative sustainability projects, such as solar power." Oh well. Let’s hope they find some feasible projects.
So there you have it. While Las Vegas still epitomizes extravagance, at least efforts are being made to make the hotel-casinos less wasteful and more energy-efficient and environmentally aware. With the dearth of curbside recycling opportunities and huge numbers of lawns, gardens, and swimming pools, it’s actually the residential sector of Las Vegas that’s lagging behind in green efforts and contributes most to the city’s waste statistics.
