One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

Contact:

Susan Stiff

(303) 598-0104

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One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

WESTIN TABOR CENTER SAVING SCRAPS FOR THE FUTURE…

FIRST IN DENVER TO BEGIN ON-PROPERTY

FOOD WASTE COMPOSTING PROGRAM

DENVER (June 24, 2008) – Associates at The Westin Tabor Center are implementing a cutting-edge commercial recycling program, in which food scraps, liquids such as beer, milk and juice as well as other organic materials are collected for composting. Westin Tabor Center is the first hotel in the Denver area to institutionalize a composting program to this extent, and the first to dedicate a compactor to its composting material.

The compost material will begin its transformation into an environmentally beneficial product starting in the Tabor Center compactor area. Alpine Waste & Recycling will move the compost material to A1 Organics’ composting facility in Platteville. After biodegrading for four months, the compost will be ready for use as soil amendments, providing nutrients and water conservation as well as reducing the use of pesticides and capturing carbon. The finished compost will be used as top dressing in landscaping projects in the Denver area.

“We believe that we are the first ever hotel in the city to make a committed effort to composting leftover food and liquids,” states Chuck Schuringa, the hotels director of operations. He continued that the hotel's Green Team has made a long-term commitment to recycling and composting. The team has a goal of reducing product sent to landfills by 70% or more.

Alpine Waste & Recycling, through its Altogether Recycling service, prides itself in customizing service to suit its customers’ recycling needs and acknowledges that 70 percent reduction in waste stream is an ambitious but achievable goal. “The Westin Tabor Center is setting the standard for the entire hotel industry with its emphasis on composting, and Altogether Recycling is pleased to play a small role in that important environmental effort,” said Brent Hildebrand, Vice President of Altogether Recycling.

The Westin’s composting partner is Colorado’s A1 Organics, a family business that has been in the organic recycling and commercial composting business for three decades, producing high-quality compost that is beneficial to the environment. A1, the largest organic recycler and producer of quality composts in the Rocky Mountain region, has evolved from one location to six major sites along the Front Range. Annually, A1 diverts in excess of 1.5M cubic yards of organic materials from landfills.

The Westin Tabor Center, located at 1672 Lawrence Street, is currently enjoying an $8M renovation including lobby space and the addition of a state-of-the-art boardroom. For additional information on the hotel, visit www.westin.com/denver.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched AloftSM, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels