LAS VEGAS—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas, two Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., Las Vegas resorts, the agency’s WasteWise New Partner Gold Achievement Award. The Gold Achievement Award is presented to new partners that implement successful comprehensive waste reduction programs that epitomize the objectives of the EPA’s WasteWise program.
The first casino entertainment company to be awarded an EPA WasteWise Gold Achievement Award, Harrah’s is also the only national casino entertainment company to belong to the EPA’s WasteWise member list.
“Harrah’s Entertainment employees at the Bally’s Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas hotel implemented an impressive array of programs that continue to have a positive impact on the environment and help educate employees and the general public alike,” said Ronald Vance from the EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery. “Harrah’s Entertainment exhibits true environmental leadership, not just for their industry but for the entire business community.”
“Harrah’s Entertainment has demonstrated a wide-ranging commitment to the environment for years,” said Gary Loveman, chairman, president and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment. “I‘m proud of our employees’ accomplishments, and we are honored to receive these prestigious honors from the EPA.”
Tons of ‘Trash’ Recycled
As a part of joining the EPA WasteWise list, the Bally’s-Paris team began to track recyclables. In 2008, the team recycled:
• 417 tons of cardboard;
• 25,690 pounds of glass;
• 36,745 pounds of plastic;
• 20,800 gallons of recycled kitchen oil; and
• Nearly 150,000 pounds of paper.
In the past six years, more than 110 conservation projects at Harrah’s U.S. casino resorts and $60 million of conservation investments have dramatically reduced the company’s energy usage. The implemented programs annually reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 243 million pounds, the equivalent of 247,000 barrels of oil. A few highlights include:
• A newly redesigned laundry facility in Las Vegas saves 72 million gallons of water annually while increasing capacity 40 percent.
• Throughout all properties, millions of light bulbs have been replaced with energy efficient lighting, saving more than 50 million kilowatt hours (kWh) each year.
• Restaurants throughout Harrah’s Entertainment’s Las Vegas resorts have installed new water filtration systems that eliminate the need for plastic water bottles.
• A steam turbine in Atlantic City Showboat generates electricity as a by-product of the normal steam production at the resort. Use of the steam turbine produced an annual savings of 2,283,041 kWh and avoided emissions of more than 1,077,685 pounds of carbon dioxide and other gases.
• Several properties, including the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Showboat Atlantic City, have cogeneration facilities that generate electricity, reducing demand on the nation’s power grid.
• Across 35 domestic resorts, Harrah’s Entertainment recycles more than 640,000 gallons of waste vegetable oil annually.
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