LAS VEGAS, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) has earned top honors from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for outstanding achievement
in food waste recycling programs at the Company's Las Vegas Strip
resorts.
The Company will be presented with the EPA's 2011 WasteWise Gold
Achievement-Food Recovery Award as part of the agency's annual
competition, which recognizes public and private entities for their
environmental sustainability efforts. The EPA gave Gold
Achievement awards in 12 sustainability categories.
The EPA WasteWise Gold Achievement Award is the third national
award that MGM Resorts has earned for its recycling program. The
Glass Packaging Institute recognized MGM Resorts with a 2010
"Friend of Glass" Award for its efforts in glass recycling and the
American Forest and Paper Association presented MGM Resorts with
the 2011 Business Leadership Recycling award for outstanding
contributions to cardboard and paper recycling.
"With millions of people dining each year at our 165 restaurants
and 11 employee dining rooms located on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM
Resorts is committed to leading the way to reduce our waste to
landfill," said MGM Resorts Senior Vice President of Energy and
Environmental Services Cindy
Ortega.
During 2010, the Company recycled 8,722 tons of food waste at
its Las Vegas hotels, which
represents 25 percent of all recycled tonnage at the resorts.
The accomplishment marks a significant increase in food waste
recycling rates since 2007, when the properties first recorded food
recovery rates, and recycled 3,353 tons of food waste.
MGM Resorts' Las Vegas
properties partner with RC Farms of North
Las Vegas, which feeds 3,000 pigs a day with food scraps
from local resorts and casinos. A second partner,
Denver-based A1 Organics, sends
crews to resort loading docks to gather food waste and haul it to
its local composting site.
Criteria for the EPA's WasteWise Food Recovery Award included:
food recovery policies, quantity of food waste prevented or
reduced, quantity of food donated or reused, quantity of food waste
composted, and the scope of food recovery initiatives
implemented.
"Our Company is tremendously honored to be singled out for our
efforts among the 150 organizations that applied for the awards,"
said Brad Tomm, MGM Resorts Director
of Sustainable Operations.
Food scrap recycling is just one part of a broader strategic
approach to environmental sustainability at MGM Resorts. The
approach focuses on five key areas: Energy and Water
Conservation, Green Building, Recycling and Waste Management,
Sustainable Supply Chain and Outreach and Education. This
strategic framework forms the platform from which MGM Resorts is
fundamentally changing the way its resorts do business. MGM Resorts
chronicled its environmental accomplishments in the Company's 2010
Environmental Responsibility Report which can be found at
www.mgmresorts.com/environment
Food waste is the second largest waste stream in the United States after paper, according to
the EPA. During 2009, 34 million tons of food waste were generated
in the United States. Of that, 33
million tons, or 97 percent was thrown away into landfills or
incinerators. When excess food, leftover food, and food scraps are
disposed of in a landfill they decompose and become a significant
source of methane.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is one of the world's
leading global hospitality companies, operating a peerless
portfolio of destination resort brands, including Bellagio, MGM
Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage. In addition to its 51%
interest in MGM China Holdings Limited, which owns the MGM Macau
resort and casino, the Company has significant holdings in gaming,
hospitality and entertainment, owns and operates 15 properties
located in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has 50% investments in three
other properties in Nevada and
Illinois. One of those investments
is CityCenter, an unprecedented urban resort destination on the Las
Vegas Strip featuring its centerpiece ARIA Resort & Casino.
Leveraging MGM Resorts' unmatched amenities, the M life loyalty
program delivers one-of-a-kind experiences, insider privileges and
personalized rewards for guests at the Company's renowned
properties nationwide. Through its hospitality management
subsidiary, the Company holds a growing number of development and
management agreements for casino and non-casino resort projects
around the world. MGM Resorts International supports responsible
gaming and has implemented the American Gaming Association's Code
of Conduct for Responsible Gaming at its gaming properties. The
Company has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions for
its industry-leading Diversity Initiative, its community
philanthropy programs and the Company's commitment to sustainable
development and operations. For more information about MGM Resorts
International, visit the Company's website at
www.mgmresorts.com.
Statements in this release which are not historical facts are
"forward looking" statements and "safe harbor statements" within
the meaning of Section 21E of the U.S. the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, and other related laws that involve risks
and/or uncertainties, including risks and/or uncertainties as
described in the company's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. We have based those forward-looking
statements on management's current expectations and assumptions and
not on historical facts. In providing forward-looking
statements, the Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation
to update these statements publicly as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise except as required by law.
SOURCE MGM Resorts International