Meydenbauer Center, the convention center in the heart of downtown Bellevue, has earned the 2026 Recycler of the Year - Organics award at the WSRA Annual Conference and Trade Show in May.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized for our efforts to minimize food waste and divert organic materials from the landfill. Our team has been working diligently for nearly three years to create a robust and sustainable food rescue program," said Sara Waltemire, Meydenbauer Center’s Chief Operating Officer. "The recognition is an incredible celebration of the impactful work of team members throughout our organization from servers and cooks to stewards and security officers to achieve our waste reduction goals, and we cannot thanks the Washington State Recycling Association for seeing the efforts of our team as award worthy."
In 2023, Meydenbauer Center pursued an initiative to implement more environmentally conscious strategies across all departments. The convention center formed a 13-person Sustainability Committee with key team members spanning multiple departments, including food and beverage, events, operations, security, and leadership. Focusing on waste diversion, energy efficiency, and staff education, the Sustainability Committee spearheaded greener measures across the board to generate impressive results.
Waste Diversion, Energy Efficiency & Staff Education
In 2025, Meydenbauer Center saw a substantial improvement in waste diversion as the team hosted nearly 300 events, welcomed 35,000 guests, and served more than 133,000 meals. The Bellevue convention center increased waste diversion from a rate of 60% to 76% by 2025 and diverted 45+ tons of organic materials from landfills through expanded composting efforts.
Sustainable Food Rescue & Community Giveback
Through OSL Serves, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nutritional, culturally relevant, and medically sensitive meals to people across the Greater Seattle-Tacoma area, Meydenbauer Center provided 1,720 pounds of surplus food that helped serve 4,720 community members in 2025.
“Jack and Angela have been so supportive in ensuring all foods still useable are kept in the best condition for us to pick up and use immediately. We don’t get this kind of exceptional commitment on donating food with respect and care for those we feed anywhere else!" Abid Choudhury, Food Industry Manager (FIM) Director at OSL Serves, applauds Meydenbauer Center team members Jack Reese and Angela Bowman for playing a key role in ensuring surplus food is donated safely and efficiently. "We usually have a percentage of donations that get composted once we sort through the donations but that has never been the case with Meydenbauer Center’s donations.”
Sustainability Toolkit for Event Organizers
Beyond its own operations, Meydenbauer Center has extended its sustainability efforts by educating and empowering event organizers by developing a Sustainability Toolkit. The toolkit equips planners with local vendor connections and practical tools for recycling and sustainable meal planning. By providing clients with practical resources and recommendations, Meydenbauer Center continues to lead the way in helping event organizers integrate sustainability into their events.
As Meydenbauer Center continues to evolve its sustainability efforts, it remains focused on finding new ways to reduce waste, engage event organizers, and create lasting positive impact beyond the event experience.
About Meydenbauer Center
Meydenbauer Center opened in 1993 as the Greater Seattle area’s second largest convention facility. Meydenbauer Center was built to grow and sustain Bellevue’s economic vitality. The Center includes 54,000 square-feet of event space including 36,000 square foot Center Hall, and nine meeting rooms totaling 12,000 square-feet. Also included is a 2,500 square-foot Executive Conference Suite as well as a 410-seat performing arts theatre. Meydenbauer Center is owned and operated by the Bellevue Convention Center Authority (BCCA), a public development authority. The seven-member BCCA Board is appointed by the Bellevue City Manager and confirmed by city council.
About WSRA
The Washington State Recycling Association (WSRA), formed in 1976, provides leadership, networking, advocacy and education to foster the expansion, diversity and economic vitality of recycling in support of sustainable resource management. Its 120 member organizations and over 8,000 individual members include private, community and government recycling agencies, generators of recyclables, collectors, processors, transporters, broker, commodity markets, recycled content product manufacturers, and others. Contact Washington State Recycling Association, 206 244-0311, www.wsra.net.
