With all the glitz and glamor of a casino, you wouldn't think you could be green while while winning green. But, an eastern Iowa destination is proving you can live it up without leaving a big impact on the environment.
Iowa's official tourism website, Travel Iowa, lists Riverside Casino Resort and Spa as a place to stay and play green. The facility is located in Riverside, just south of Iowa City. You can get to it from the metro in less than two hours.
General Manager Joe Massa says you can get away from it all at Riverside Casino Resort and Spa. He says, "This is a huge facility, a destination resort." The destination includes an 18 hole golf course, Las Vegas inspired casino, 201 room hotel, indoor/outdoor pool, four dining options and a spa.
Massa says crews built the resort four years ago with the environment in mind. He says, "We need to protect our natural resources, so we took that all into account when we designed the facility." Massa says they used the latest technology and practices to make the facility as sustainable as possible.
One feature includes energy efficient lighting for the more than 9,000 bulbs used to light the 24 hour facility.
Assistant Facilities Director Brett DeWolf says, "We went from standard incandescent bulbs in some of our fixtures to the dimable compact fluorescent. We're also looking at new LED lighting. I believe we have about 10 of those in one of our chandeliers at this time."
In the kitchen, chefs save the cooking oil to power the building in case the lights go out. DeWolf says, "All the vegetable oil used in cooking processes is recaptured and sent to a local cooperative." DeWolf says the local cooperative turns their cooking oil into biodiesel, giving them 1,300 gallons of the clean burning fuel a year.
DeWolf says, "Which allows us to do all operations of our generator or monthly exercises where we run it for about an hour and that is at no cost to us."
He also says crews also clean green using green seal certified cleaners throughout the facility and ride along vacuums. DeWolf says, "The belief of cleaning green is to minimize your impact, not only on the environment, but on your worker's health."
Even the trip to the restroom makes this a green getaway. All the paper towels and even the toilet paper are made out of recycled products. And, the water faucets are touches and the toilets flush automatically. DeWolf says that saves water, and hopefully helps the environment.
DeWolf says, "From our Aveda products in our spa to the recycling of as much waste as we possibly can with the space we have this is a pretty green facility."
Iowa's official tourism website, Travel Iowa, lists Riverside Casino Resort and Spa as a place to stay and play green. The facility is located in Riverside, just south of Iowa City. You can get to it from the metro in less than two hours.
General Manager Joe Massa says you can get away from it all at Riverside Casino Resort and Spa. He says, "This is a huge facility, a destination resort." The destination includes an 18 hole golf course, Las Vegas inspired casino, 201 room hotel, indoor/outdoor pool, four dining options and a spa.
Massa says crews built the resort four years ago with the environment in mind. He says, "We need to protect our natural resources, so we took that all into account when we designed the facility." Massa says they used the latest technology and practices to make the facility as sustainable as possible.
One feature includes energy efficient lighting for the more than 9,000 bulbs used to light the 24 hour facility.
Assistant Facilities Director Brett DeWolf says, "We went from standard incandescent bulbs in some of our fixtures to the dimable compact fluorescent. We're also looking at new LED lighting. I believe we have about 10 of those in one of our chandeliers at this time."
In the kitchen, chefs save the cooking oil to power the building in case the lights go out. DeWolf says, "All the vegetable oil used in cooking processes is recaptured and sent to a local cooperative." DeWolf says the local cooperative turns their cooking oil into biodiesel, giving them 1,300 gallons of the clean burning fuel a year.
DeWolf says, "Which allows us to do all operations of our generator or monthly exercises where we run it for about an hour and that is at no cost to us."
He also says crews also clean green using green seal certified cleaners throughout the facility and ride along vacuums. DeWolf says, "The belief of cleaning green is to minimize your impact, not only on the environment, but on your worker's health."
Even the trip to the restroom makes this a green getaway. All the paper towels and even the toilet paper are made out of recycled products. And, the water faucets are touches and the toilets flush automatically. DeWolf says that saves water, and hopefully helps the environment.
DeWolf says, "From our Aveda products in our spa to the recycling of as much waste as we possibly can with the space we have this is a pretty green facility."
