Recycling

Cleveland convention center reports diversion rates from 2017

Several tons of material generated at the Huntington Convention Center, Cleveland, which is managed by SMG, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, was diverted from landfill during the center’s 222 events in 2017, a report by Cleveland.com says. Last year’s events attracted 22,656 visitors.

The center diverted the following:

• 75,880 pounds of cardboard;
• 46,440 pounds of wood pallets;
• 18,480 pounds of mixed plastic;
• 14,780 pounds of mixed fibers;
• 10,000 pounds of glass;
• 9,000 pounds of bulk and shredded paper; and
• the equivalent of 23,005 plastic water bottles from the use of water refill stations.

According to the report, the convention center also donated 26,980 pounds of recycled material, including leftover carpeting, insulation, gardening equipment, fertilizer, building materials, drywall, tools, children’s furniture, paint, landscaping brick and trim to local organizations such as the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the Ed Keating Center and Karamu House.

An on-site working farm operated by Levy Food Services, Chicago, and SMG provided more than 2,000 pounds of honey from 16 bee colonies; a quarter of the facility’s eggs from hens; and seasonal greens, herbs and veggies to the facility.

Levy also diverted nearly 25,000 pounds of food at the Huntington Convention Center by donating 13,500 pounds of leftovers to the Ed Keating Center through the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, recycling 1,650 pounds of cooking oil and feeding 9,000 pounds of food scraps to the hens and three pigs that live on-site, the report says.

The convention center also reduced napkin waste by 56 percent through one-at-a-time napkin dispensers, used biodegradable and compostable plates, box lunches, cups and flatware and implemented a food waste recycling system from Grind2Energy, Racine, Wisconsin, that created 37.8 tons of slurry from food waste. The slurry is sent to an anaerobic digester that extracts the methane for energy production and soil amendment.

The facility also makes a biannual donation of clothing, coats, gloves and other items from the building’s lost and found.