TEMECULA, Calif. – (April 15, 2015) – An unlikely conservationist by most accounts, the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California has totaled up trash equivalents its staff recycles on an annual basis. The statistics are staggeringly positive.
The amount of glass, aluminum, cardboard and e-waste the largest casino in California turns over for recycling each year totals the same volume of trash generated by the equivalent of a city the size of Moreno Valley, Calif. or Fontana, Calif. – populations of about 200,000 people.
The casino recycles all of its used cooking oil, saves 100,000 gallons of water annually by recovering droplets generated by a turbine cooling system, saves millions of watts of electricity with energy efficient lighting in all parking areas, inside hallways and offices.
Even its casino carpeting, which often gets a bad rap at many properties for being busy and distracting, gets turned over for a new life. The resort recently ripped out 100,000 square feet of carpet, just less than the size of two football fields. The Native American-owned property is doing what it can to protect the environment and ensure the non-biodegradable material is recycled. All 100,000 square feet is being turned over to recyclers and will be made into new carpet padding.
At the resort’s golf course, only non-toxic and soil-based solutions are utilized to maintain the lushness of the greens. The course also employs two golf dogs to shoo away mud hens that overpopulate and leave behind toxic messes.
Other Recycling Stats for Pechanga Resort & Casino
GLASS = 50 tons recycled/year
ALUMINUM = 70 tons recycled/year
CARDBOARD = 300 tons recycled/year
E-WASTE = 40 tons recycled/year