Q:
If this has been answered I missed your response. Back when the building of large casinos was going full bore and many of the old places were being imploded, what did the contractors do with all the material that had to be removed before building could start? Was in put in a dump, used as land fill, etc? Just curious.
A:
For a city known for its excess in all areas, it may come as a surprise to a number of readers to learn that Las Vegas has been garnering some impressive accolades for its "green" programs these days, and this applies primarily to the hospitality industry; residentially, we're still lagging behind in terms of recycling opportunities and efforts towards sustainability. Here's a link to recent interview that SmartPlanet.com conducted with Thomas Perrigo, the City of Las Vegas’ sustainability officer, where you can learn about initiatives including the introduction of electric bikes downtown, xeriscaping, renewable energy programs, and more.
Five of the of the six major casino players in town – MGM Resorts International, Harrah's Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands (Venetian/Palazzo), Station Casinos, and Boyd Gaming have impressive green credentials, particularly the first three (Wynn/Encore is far less forthcoming about their eco-friendly initiatives or the lack thereof, so it's hard to comment on those properties' "greenness.") You can see some details about the programs various properties have in place in our exclusive Green Hotel Guide to Las Vegas.
As to your specific question, yes, a lot of construction waste from imploded casinos has been recycled for incorporation into new projects. Here are some examples:
- In 1996, the historic Sands was imploded to make way for the Venetian and, subsequently, Palazzo. The latter made sustainability and environmental awareness a priority and averaged over 95 percent recycled steel, while the concrete averaged 26 percent recycled content. During construction, some 70 percent of waste materials were recycled, diverting some 42,000 tons from landfill. When it debuted in April 2008, Palazzo was the largest LEED-certified building in the world.
- CityCenter also demonstrated a commitment to green policies from the outset. More than 85 percent of the materials from the old Boardwalk hotel, imploded to make way for the new metaresort, were reused or recycled, keeping tons of materials from going into local landfills. The CityCenter team explored every opportunity to reuse the debris: Doors, hardware, scrap steel, other metals and carpet were sold to resellers; broken tiles, concrete and asphalt were taken offsite, crushed, and used as structural filler; salvaged toilets and countertops were used in projects in Mexico.
In fact, so big was this project that a new recycling firm, Evergreen, was founded on the strength of managing that aspect of CityCenter's construction; however, the economic downturn left a big void once CityCenter was completed and the company has since been bought out by Republic Services, the established Vegas Valley recycler.
- The currently paralyzed Echelon project, which also sought LEED certification, made us of recycled materials while it was still under construction. Living trees were salvaged from the Stardust and were to be incorporated into the landscaping of the new property, but we're pretty sure they're no longer on site and we're unsure of their fate.
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