Centerlines - March 2009 - (Page 28) ENVIRONMENT RECYCLING TAKES HOLD AT AIRPORTS M B Y C A R R OL L MC C OR M IC K ore than 50 airports now have some form of recycling program, according to the 2008 ACI-NA Airport Environmental Programs Survey. More and more airports are starting recycling programs, and many of those with existing programs have focused on including additional materials and physical spaces. Airports such as Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles, and Nashville have extensive recycling programs that eliminate the need to dispose of everything from glass to restaurant grease. Several airports are working with the airlines to recycle materials coming off aircraft, including cups, cans and newspapers. According to the ACI-NA survey, paper and aluminum products are the most frequently recycled items. Several airports have taken on the challenging mixture of food scraps and coffee grounds. In many cases, the airports continue to be a leader in the community with more extensive recycling programs than what may be available to homeowners or other commercial operations. However, the success of airport recycling programs depends on the existence of a local infrastructure and industries that use recyclables. And, a new twist in the recession is how the scrap dealers value paper, metals and plastics. Mixed Goods Welcome Freed from the hassle of forcing travelers to separate their materials into glass, paper and aluminum, recycling programs in San José and Nashville have taken off. At the Mineta San José International Airport, the percentage of waste it recycles soared to 79 percent in the 2007-2008 fiscal year after GreenWaste Recovery — the city’s trash hauler — opened its Material Recovery Facility, which can handle a diverse collection of unsorted, recyclable materials. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority joined the Metro Nashville Public Works Curby program in 2007, which supercharged its recycling program by accepting a larger variety of unsorted materials. “People love the Curby program,” reported Emily Richard, the airport authority’s corporate communications 28 CENTERLINES | MARCH 2009
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