How the Grand Canyon Restaurants and Railways Reduce Waste

Bucket list travel is often associated with indulgence — splurging on lie-flat business class tickets or dining with a celebrity chef’s decadent tasting menu. All that extravagance can come with a good deal of waste, whether it’s the money funding such a trip or the food left sitting atop a very fancy plate.

But once-in-a-lifetime experiences and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Consider the Grand Canyon. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, Grand Canyon National Park encompasses 1,904 square miles within the state of Arizona.

It’s also a leader in sustainable tourism, starting with a ride aboard the Grand Canyon Railway. In operation since 1901, the historic locomotive carries visitors from Williams, Arizona, to the canyon’s South Rim in restored vintage cars. Sweeping vistas of the park’s profound majesty pass by while musicians roam the aisles, serenading passengers with nostalgic sounds of the Old West. It’s atmospheric, and at times, highly efficient.

The fleet of both diesel and steam-powered trains is run by Xanterra, which also operates several park lodges and restaurants. For years, the steam trains ran only seasonally, until environmental concerns paused them entirely. Then, in 2009, Xanterra brought its historic locomotives back to the rails — this time running on carbon-neutral vegetable oil waste collected from Xanterra’s own restaurants.

Nicknamed the “French Fry Express,” each locomotive uses about 1,200 gallons of 100% renewable vegetable oil waste per 130-mile round-trip journey, resulting in a 25,000-pound reduction of carbon dioxide emissions compared to diesel engines.

The French Fry Express only runs once a month, on “Steam Saturdays.” The rest of the time, passengers travel on diesel trains powered by ultra-low sulfur fuel, and soon, those will look different, too. Following a $3.4 million grant to further lower pollutants, a classic diesel locomotive will be converted into a zero-emission, battery-powered electric one.

“Our electric locomotive project will significantly reduce the already low environmental impact of visiting the Grand Canyon via rail, and will provide a quieter and cleaner guest experience,” says Kevin Crosby, Xanterra’s corporate director of sustainability, who also added that it “should be in service in a couple of years.”

Leftover french fry grease isn’t the only discarded food in the park that avoids rubbish bins. Unsightly apples, wilted lettuce, and unattractive fruits and vegetables that can’t be served to guests are instead reserved for a surprising beneficiary: the mules who call the Grand Canyon home.

Mules have been part of life in the Grand Canyon since the late 1800s, carrying hundreds of thousands of visitors along its twisty trails. These days, there are around 150 mules in the canyon who take guests on rides and help to transport supplies in and out of Phantom Ranch, the only accommodation located below the canyon rim.

To keep these hard workers satiated, the park’s South Rim restaurant kitchens participate in Operation Shrivelly Apples. Instead of tossing shrunken apples, melon rinds, and carrot shavings, the prep cooks instead earmark them for veterinarian-approved mule meals, diverting waste away from landfills.

Crosby estimates that since 2013, the Grand Canyon National Park Lodges have fed over 76,000 pounds of recycled food scraps to the mules. And after such hearty meals, the animals' manure is repurposed, too. “We compost over 700 tons of mule manure every year,” Crosby said.

Back on top of the rim, the park’s other restaurants lead similar eco-conscious initiatives.

Out of over 600 Certified Green Restaurants in North America, four are run by Xanterra in the Grand Canyon. This means they excel in measuring energy, water, and food usage, and managing waste, reusables and disposables, and chemicals, among other factors.

Certifications range from one to four stars, and the Arizona Steakhouse on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, the rustic El Tovar Dining Room inside the El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim, and Harvey House Café, inside Bright Angel Lodge, all have four stars, while The Fred Harvey Restaurant in the Grand Canyon Railway depot has three.

“We use industry best practices to ensure operational efficiency. This includes using a restaurant menu management system and other tools to accurately forecast ingredient needs to reduce spoilage and waste,” says Crosby, adding that the restaurants also purchase sustainable food products, manage waste carefully, use energy and water-conserving equipment, and choose vendors who support the environment.

So if you find yourself sitting in one of them one day, go ahead and order a second helping of french fries. It could fuel your ride home.