Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/972111
B M & T ••• March/April 2018 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 20 continued from page 7 bulk and shredded paper. These efforts diverted 49.1 percent of materials from the landfill as part of the build- ing's overall Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle program. As a member of the Cleveland 2030 District, a movement to create high- performance building dis- tricts throughout Greater Cleve-land with the goal of dramatically reducing the environmental impacts of building construction and operations, the facility reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.26 percent in 2017, equivalent to taking 19 automobiles off the road for a year, and reduced its usage of electricity, water, and district steam heat. "We are continuing to grow our efforts to increase the percentage of trash being diverted from the landfill and recycled by further sorting and employee training," said Anastasia Volsko, director of Operations. "In December, we held employee training to educate our front line employees on how to properly sort and recycle the most common items we encounter on a regular basis. We are also working with the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District to improve our training programs and reduce our impact on the environment." Water refill stations are located throughout the facility and, based on usage, track the amount of water used in refillable containers, amounting to the diversion of the equivalent of 23,005 plastic water bottles from the landfill. Situated on the property is a working farm to help pro- duce food in-house for catering purposes. Operated by the Levy and SMG team, the farm is home to 16 colonies of honey bees generating more than 2,000 pounds of honey annually, egg-laying hens that provide fresh eggs daily accounting for up to a quarter of the facility's monthly shelled egg use, a variety of raised beds that feature sea- sonal greens, herbs, and vegetables, and three Mangalista heritage breed pigs. During the year, Levy recycled nearly 25,000 pounds of food trimmings and waste in 2017, including 13,500 pounds of leftovers to the Keating Center through the Cleveland Food Bank, repurposing over 9,000 pounds as food for the chickens and pigs, and recycling 1,650 pounds of cooking oil. The one-at-a-time napkin dispensers reduce napkin waste by 56 percent and the facility utilizes eco-friendly, biodegradable and compostable plates, box lunches, cups, and flatware products. Levy partners with Chef's Garden in Huron, a local, fam- ily-owned 300-acre vegetable farm, to purchase produce from a source committed to sustainable agriculture utiliz- ing practices that replenish nutrients depleted from the soil and growing crops through natural means. Wherever possible, Levy pur- chases food products that are sustainably raised and respon- sibly sourced, including antibi- otic-free poultry from Gerber Farms in Kidron, cage-free eggs, A2 all-natural dairy products from Fresh Fork Market as well as certified humane, hormone-antibiotic-free pork from Ohio City Provisions Pork-Chop Shop at the West Side Market. The Huntington Convention Center uses Grind2Energy™, Emerson's food waste recycling system, to enable food waste to be converted into energy. Through Grind2Energy's innovative process, food waste is ground on-site using an industrial-strength InSinkErator® grinder, which is then converted into a slurry. The quasar energy group, a full waste-to-energy company, transports this material to a local anaerobic digestion facilities to extract methane for energy production and to produce a nutrient-rich soil amendment. The Grind2Energy™ sys- tem created 37.8 tons of slurry to convert to power. The slurry created enough natural gas to heat 18 homes for one month, electricity to power 12 homes for one month, 4,583 pounds of nutrient-rich fertilizer, and eliminated green- house gas emissions equivalent to 52,675 automobile miles. The Huntington Convention Center donated 26,980 pounds of recycled materials to local organizations as part of the facility's Sustainability Donation Program, a new initiative that provides clients, exhibitors, and con- tractors a simple solution to reduce the amount of waste generated from an event. Donated products included leftover carpeting, insulation, gardening equipment, fertilizer, pre-prepared food, building materials, stain, waterproofing, drywall, tools, chil- dren's furniture, paint, landscaping brick, drywall and trim and were shared with local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity Restore, Edward Keating Center, and Karamu House. The facility also provides a biannual donation from the building's lost and found to the Salvation Army, including clothing, coats, gloves, umbrellas, and cold-weather gear. "In December, we held employee training to educate our front line employees on how to properly sort and recycle the most common items we encounter on a regular basis. We are also working with the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District to improve our training programs and reduce our impact on the environment."