From Trash to Treasure: Organic Recycling Gains Momentum at U.S. Convention Centers

Food waste is a massive issue in the U.S., with 51% of food waste from retailers like convention centers and hotels ending up in landfills, contributing to methane emissions that make landfills the third-largest source of methane in the country, said Nancy St. Pierre, director of communications for Denali, an organic waste disposal and recycling services company.  

To combat this growing problem, Denali is partnering with convention centers across North America to divert food waste from landfills and turn it into compost and other reusable materials. One of its latest collaborations is with the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas (KBHCCD), where Denali is recycling food waste generated from the hundreds of meetings, trade shows, and events and more than 1 million visitors it hosts each year. 

The partnership, led by the facility’s food and beverage partner, Sodexo Live! utilizes Denali’s de-packaging technology to separate plastic, cardboard, and other food and drink packaging from food waste to recycle what would otherwise end up in landfills and turn it into compost for North Texas farms and gardens. 

“Working with Denali to recycle leftover food demonstrates our ongoing commitment and sustainable business practices, including waste reduction,” said Chef David Skorka, senior executive chef for Sodexo Live! at KBHCCD, which is managed by Oak View Group (OVG). “What makes this partnership so appealing is that the food we cannot donate, and was previously destined for the trash, can now be given a new life that will benefit our community.”  

How it works 

This recycling initiative is part of KBHCCD’s greater sustainability efforts and community outreach through its Good Neighbor Program, which matches donations of surplus and unconsumed food (that meets all safety standards) and exhibit items with local nonprofits serving unhoused and underprivileged families and children in the Downtown Dallas area, according to OVG officials.   

“Denali is excited to be part of the KBHCCD’s green initiatives and Good Neighbor program,” said Nancy St. Pierre, Denali director of communications. “KBHCCD is already doing impressive work to promote sustainability, but event venues such as hotels, conference centers, and sports arenas produce a significant amount of unconsumed food due to factors like high-volume catering and unpredictable attendance. To address this challenge, we’re committed to providing our partners and communities with the technology, expertise, and services needed to enhance their sustainability efforts even further.” 

This latest sustainability initiative will also contribute to expanding KBHCCD’s ongoing efforts to attract more environmentally conscious events and offer sustainable practices whenever possible. 

Why it matters 

“Our dedication to resource conservation, source reduction, and waste diversion is an integral part of who we are and reflects our ongoing mission to create a more sustainable future,” said Keith Talbert, OVG director of sales and marketing for KBHCCD. 

Denali assists KBHCCD with: 

• Handling all organic recycling procedures and operations 
• Providing standard and custom reporting so the venue can educate its team and consumers on the environmental impact they are making by recycling organics 
• Training staff on properly identifying food waste and how to properly dispose of it in the correct containers for collection 
• Weekly pickups, transporting the food waste to be de-packaged, and turning it into useable products that go back into agriculture, such as compost 
• Providing consulting services on creating sustainability programs, goals, and best practices on organic recycling. The company also works with venues to identify other food waste sources within their operations, and counsels them on ways to prevent generating food waste.  
• Marketing services to help the venue educate and promote their sustainability efforts to customers. (For example, Hilton in Dallas is utilizing signage and collateral we created for them.) 

Big picture 

The KBHCCD isn’t the first event venue the recycler has worked with in Dallas and beyond. In October 2024, Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre teamed up with Denali to recycle its food waste and offer certified zero-food-waste meetings, conferences, and conventions. In 2019, the recycler kicked off a successful partnership with the Phoenix Convention Center and the Phoenix Public Works Department to help the facility divert its food waste and cooking oil from landfills and convert it into compost and biofuel, respectively. 

The company also boasts partnerships with the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Denver Marriott, and a host of stadiums and concert venues, including the State Farm Stadium and the Talking Stick Amphitheater in Phoenix; the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; and the FedEx Forum in Memphis, according to Denali officials. 

According to St. Pierre, interest in the company’s services has been growing as more convention centers, hotels, conference centers, stadiums, and arenas seek to increase their sustainability practices in response to growing demand from guests, attendees, and stakeholders, as well as state laws (such as the Large Event Recycling and Composting Law SB 2876 that went into effect in Illinois Jan. 1, 2025) mandating recycling and composting practices at large-scale public event venues. 

TSNN sat down with St. Pierre to learn more about organic recycling and Denali’s quest to further the sustainability movement across the meetings and events landscape. 

What is the difference between a “regular” recycler and an “organic” recycler and how does the organic recycling process work? 

“Regular” recycling focuses on taking manmade materials, like plastics, cardboard, and paper and repurposing them into other products, while organic recycling is collecting materials that come from living matter, such as unconsumed food, used cooking oil, and biosolids, and giving them new life as natural fertilizer, compost, animal feed, and biofuel.  

We collect and recycle food waste, unconsumed food, and used cooking oil from restaurants, grocery stores, and food manufacturers through different processes. Our de-packaging technology separates food from its packaging, resulting in a cleaner stream of organic material for repurposing into products. This process eliminates manually separating packaging, making the process more efficient and streamlined, and reduces costs related to trash compactor maintenance and other waste disposal costs, including hauls to landfill. Denali recycles over 1 billion pounds of food waste into useful products.  

Why should more meeting and event venues consider working with a recycling company such as Denali to help them achieve their sustainability goals? 

Event venues benefit from our services due to the vast amount of food waste generated during large events. Whether it is a sporting event, conference, meeting, or any form of entertainment, taking the large amount of food waste from these events and diverting it from landfills improves the environment by decreasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.  

According to the U.S. EPA, food waste in landfills is responsible for 58% of all methane emissions from municipal landfills, which are the third-largest methane emitters in the U.S. Many of these venues generate large amounts of surplus food, but Rethink Food Waste through Economics and Data (ReFED) estimates that businesses in the foodservice sector alone contribute around 18 million tons of food waste annually––approximately 20% of all food wasted in the U.S.  

Despite this, only 10% of surplus food is typically donated or recycled, according to Deloitte. Working with a company like Denali can help these venues manage their food waste more sustainably, reduce their environmental impact, and align with broader sustainability goals by improving waste diversion practices such as food donation and recycling. Recycling food waste and other organic materials is essential for keeping water clean, building soil fertility, enhancing farmers’ resilience, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels and landfills. 

Denali’s services contribute to corporate waste goals, sustainability initiatives, and ESG reporting. Recycling food waste is just part of a company’s goals and initiatives, but it can play a key role in meeting targets, reducing emissions, and being a better corporate citizen.  

Recycling food waste also provides these businesses with valuable data that can help improve upstream management of food – prevention, upcycling, and recovery. Recycling food waste also reduces expenses related to use of trash compactors, including hauling/disposal costs, equipment maintenance and spill cleanup.  

Have some trade show-related sustainability news to share? Reach out to lisa.savas@informa.com and danica.tormohlen@informa.com.

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