Caesars Entertainment Corporation is nearing its goal of 50 percent waste diversion by 2020.
Caesars is diverting 44 percent of its waste, which is nearly double its 23 percent diversion rate in 2013.
It hired waste consultant Ecova to help reduce its total waste and carefully is measuring its waste products.
It also is double-checking its trash before letting it go to a landfill to ensure nothing is sent that could be diverted elsewhere.
Leading the sustainability effort is Caesars’ Engineering and Sustainable Operations Manager Jeff Ruskowitz, who initiated the firm’s CodeGreen program after being hired in 2013.
He started by assessing the company’s then-current efforts, and began organizing waste diversion efforts. Those include separating organics and other waste materials that could be reintroduced into the commerce stream.
In 2014, Caesars hired Ecova to provide waste consulting, plus utility bill processing and analysis.
Ruskowitz and Ecova conducted two audits of the company’s waste processing at two different properties and found food waste in particular needed to be addressed.
Food waste accounted for up to 55 percent of all waste in compactors and up to 80 percent of its weight at the Rio in Las Vegas.
At the other casino, the Horseshoe Hammond in Indiana, food waste was handled much more efficiently, but recyclables accounted for 60 percent of its waste volume.
The company then initiated its CodeGreen plan to divert food waste, including using a food digester to convert food waste into a liquid that simply can be drained.
Caesars also is partnering with food banks and pantries, bioenergy firms, and farms.
The company also is streamlining its recycling process, and says it will continue conducting audits to continually streamline and improve its waste diversion.
