Las Vegas company sees riches in compost

You might see that salad you left unfinished at Bellagio today again in about 90 days.

Landscaping clippings from the MGM? Those might end up in the same mix.

Through a partnership with A1 Organics Nevada, Las Vegas casinos, grocery stores and landscaping companies are sending leftover food and green waste to be recycled as compost at A1's Las Vegas facility, a process that takes 90 days. Green waste is organic matter that includes plants such as trees and lawn clippings.

Since 2006, Greenwood, Colo.-based A1 Organics has operated a Las Vegas facility that processes about 2,500 tons of food and 2,000 cubic yards of green waste per month.

The Las Vegas operation, which employs 20 people, is overseen by sales manager Ryan Lynch. On a Friday afternoon at the A1 facility North of Nellis Air Force Base off of Las Vegas Boulevard, six mounds of waste, each about 20 feet tall, waited to be mixed at the company's facility near the intersection of Interstate 15 and the Valley of Fire exit. To create compost, green and food waste is mixed and watered regularly until it breaks down into a fine, nutrient-rich soil product.

It's International Compost Awareness Week through Sunday , and while there's no parade, more local businesses are getting into the habit. With the exception of The Mirage and City Center, all of the Las Vegas MGM Resorts International properties work with A1. In all, 12 major casinos have signed up for A1's services, along with a handful of local food processing companies, grocery stores and restaurants.

"It's been good for us," A1 Organics company President and CEO Chuck Wilson said. "I saw a great need here for food waste recycling. I viewed the Strip as being one of the largest and most concentrated areas for food production in the world."

Wilson said the company is growing at a rate of 25 percent to 30 percent in revenue and volume, over 2011, but wouldn't disclose service fees or yearly sales figures. Clients of A1 pay for regular pickup by the company's five trucks.

Whole Foods Markets, one of the first A1 clients, started using the service six years ago for its four Nevada stores.

"It's in line with our mission," said Sonja Brown, metro marketing supervisor for Whole Foods Market Las Vegas. "They've been a great partner for us. They're really a part of our daily operations."

Here's how it works: Whole Foods employees dump waste in department-specific, 32- and 64-gallon bins each day and A1 collects it.

"It's not a complicated process for us," Brown said.

Rick Crandall, the director of sustainability for Albertsons, agreed. A1 has collected waste three days a week from 33 Albertsons stores in Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City for almost one year.

"The partnership has been fantastic," Crandall said. "They met all of our needs."

Finished compost from A1 returns to Las Vegas, where it can be used by golf courses, nurseries, landscaping companies and casino horticulture departments. A1 only sells the end-product to commercial partners by the truckload.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.