- More than 39 tons composted since lifts started turning this winter
- Winter compost from BSR will provide over 9 tons of soil for Summit County residents
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. –March 15, 2010 – Starting in July 2010, Breckenridge Mountain Dining began collecting food and other compostable waste at two locations to be composted rather than thrown in the landfill. Building on the success of these two locations, the program was expanded to all Breckenridge Ski Resort Mountain Dining facilities. This program is part of the company’s corporate sustainability program, Vail Resorts Echo, which includes all of VR’s environmental stewardship initiatives, charitable giving and employee community engagement. VR Echo helps the company care for and preserve the iconic settings and communities where are resorts are located – and reducing the amount of waste is an integral part of this effort. BSR’s program has now composted more than 49 total tons of waste, with over 39 of these tons coming since the resort opened for the winter season.
The compost program is the result of efforts from the Mountain Dining department collecting food waste in restaurant kitchen areas, and of the Mountain Services department hauling the compostable waste for disposal. This season, food waste is currently only being collected from kitchens. As the program continues to grow, the resort hopes to expand to include compost bins in the dining areas for guests to use.
The compostable waste heads off the mountain and to the Summit County landfill’s compost operation, where it is mixed with other materials and naturally turns into rich, fertilizing soil. Composting creates a useful product from waste – turning it into nutrient rich soil that can help grow plants and gardens in Summit’s high altitude environment. In addition, it also reduces methane production that occurs when organic wastes break down in a landfill, keeps a relatively heavy waste stream out of the trash, and reduces trash disposal costs.
Breckenridge Mountain Dining’s food waste composting effort joins Breckenridge Hospitality - the Village Hotel and Great Divide Lodge – which began separating food waste for composting in fall 2009, as well as Keystone Resort, who began composting in partnership with the Summit County landfill in January 2009.
About Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, and the Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort property and hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and in the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.