OverviewPaper and paperboard recycling has been in operation at MGM Resors for many years. A more strategic approach to recycling was launched in 2006 with the formation of the Energy and Environmental Service Division (EESD), which made recycling a priority across the company. They reexamined the cost, operations and effectiveness of the company's asset recovery and recycling programs, and identified and adopted best practices to reduce, reuse and recyce materials.MGM's 60,000 employees recovered 10,913 tons of paper and paper-based packaging from their operations in 2010. Amount of paper collected per employee: 363 pounds.

ProcessPaper recovery efforts include: shredding and collection stations in every resort's back of house; easy paper recycling access for all office employees; additional office paper collection to help increase white paper collection in non-office areas; corrugated/cardboard broken down and separated upstream by warehouse, delivery, and waste management employees; cardboard balers and forklifts on all resorts back docks – capable of 900 pound cardboard bales in minutes; contracted recycling labor working 24 hours per day at each resort's back dock to sort and separate paper, cardboard, and other mixed recyclables; collection of all in-room phone books twice a year, and annual storage purges of retained legal documents. Recycling and Waste Management is one of the five core focus areas of MGM Resorts' Strategic Plan for Sustainability. The focus areas are Energy Management, Green Building, Sustainable Supply Chain, and Outrach and Education.

EducationTo encourage guests and customers of its casinos and hotels to recycle, MGM has placed signs on all trash cans that say, "We'll do the recycling for you." Customers have access to the sustainability page on MGM's website and some have access to MGM Resorts' Annual Recycling Report. The company encourages employees working in resorts and casinos to recycling with signage on large shredding bins reminding them that the paper will be recycled. MGM Resorts' daily employee newsletter, Momentum, often features updates on the company's recycling programs and articles that promote individual participation in recycling.The MGM Resorts EESD team created the Conservation Begins at Home program three years ago to educate it's very large employee population about the benefits of recycling and being green at home.

MeasurementMGM measures recycling programs on a cost-per-ton basis, using cost-per-ton to landfill as the baseline. At most of the resorts the comprehensive recycling program's cost-per-ton is less than cost-per-ton to landfill, resulting in operating cost savings. MGM Resorts published its first Annual Recycling Report in 2007 for internal and external stakeholders. The transparency of the Annual Recycling Report has been a driving force behind improving results.