MGM Resorts International Leads Zero Waste Efforts in Las Vegas, Nevada

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This rooftop herb garden at MGM's Bellagio hotel uses compost from food waste.

MGM Resorts International was recognized by EPA and the state of Nevada for their efforts to reduce food waste. MGM Resorts International and MGM Grand Las Vegas are two of 32 recipients who received the 2013 Food Recovery Challenge Award, and the only recipients in Nevada. In addition, nine additional MGM Resorts' properties will commended for increasing the amount of food scraps diverted from landfills from 2012 to 2013.

Overall, MGM Resorts International's 13 properties in Las Vegas diverted a total of 25,398 tons of food from landfill to compost, a 50% increase over 2012. Composting this food instead of landfilling it conserved the energy equivalent of more than 50,300 gallons of gasoline. In 2012, Americans threw away just under 35 million tons of food – more than any other type of material being landfilled. As wasted food rots in a landfill it generates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Employees in the Bellagio Buffet and other resort restaurants recycle food scraps in upstream separated containers. Upstream recycling efforts have helped Bellagio boost its recycling rate. | Enlarge