New Orleans pursues recycling during convention center renovation

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has surpassed its goal of 50 percent waste diversion for a recent renovation project, diverting 84 percent of the discarded construction and demolition (C&D) materials generated during the project’s first stage.

The effort is one of two recycling-related bright spots in the center's operations, along with expanding its "robust" recycling program for clients and events.

The NOENMCC renovation work is part of a $557 million capital improvement plan involving a "major" interior renovation encompassing all meeting rooms and public spaces.

The center says the 84 percent diversion rate is in keeping with its ongoing commitment to sustainability and maintaining the facility’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Between July and September 2023, roughly 275 tons of discarded C&D materials left the building. Of that, more than 230 tons were diverted from landfills.

The NOENMCC lists masonry, lights, scrap metal, old corrugated containers (OCC) and plastic as materials directed to local companies in the recycling sector.

“We’ve made it a priority to be proactive about reducing our environmental footprint,” says Adam J. Straight, chief operating officer at NOENMCC. “That means we’re always looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce waste. In such an expansive facility, construction projects present multiple opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle and, ultimately, return.”

The NOENMCC worked in cooperation with Pennsylvania-based Armstrong Worldwide to acquire sustainably sourced ceiling panels and to enroll in the Armstrong Ceilings Recycling Program. That program helps boost its recycling rate while reducing embedded carbon (greenhouse gas emissions arising from the manufacturing of building materials) on commercial renovation projects.

The Armstrong recycling program has entailed NOENMCC workers loading thousands of discarded ceiling panels onto pallets. Armstrong transports those pallets to a manufacturing facility to be processed and used to make new ceiling material with high recycled content.

In a top-to-bottom approach, as the center installed new custom floor coverings, workers removed the existing carpet and sent it to be recycled. “These two programs—recycling all carpet and ceiling tile to be used to make new products—represent a significant portion of the recycling rate,” NOENMCC says.

As a LEED-certified facility, the center adheres to a maintenance and renovation policy that requires building materials to be made with recycled content. Many of the products used are also highly recyclable to maximize end-of-use recycling in the future, NOENMCC says.

“Linda Baynham, our director of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, and our operations team have really gone above and beyond to show how major projects can be done in a sustainable way,” says Michael J. Sawaya, president and CEO of the convention center.

“Our hope is that, by sharing our recycling goals, processes and results, we will inspire other companies and facilities to expand their own recycling efforts and sustainability programs and practices."

The NOENMCC, opened in 1985, contains 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space under one roof, and bills itself as the sixth largest convention center in the United States and as having the largest single amount of exhibit space on one level and under one roof in the country.