By Paul Eubanks
I recently had the pleasure of attending the ACI-NA Airport Board Members and Commissioners Conference in Savannah, GA. It’s a wonderful annual conference (near 100 attendees) that brings together a diverse group of airport Boards throughout North America.
I want to especially thank Patrick Graham and the entire Savannah Airport Commission for their gracious hospitality. The conference was a huge success thanks to the help of SAV.
While the conference covered a plethora of important topics (airline/airport negotiations, state of the regional airline industry, the power of social media, contingency planning for irregular operations, designing terminals for the 21st century…just to name a few), I was especially struck by one particular topic: in-flight waste.
Here’s a staggering figure to consider. For every six hours of commercial flight within the United States, 1,000,000 disposable cups are used on-board commercial aircraft. That’s right. 6 flying hours=1 million plastic cups.
Did you know that an estimated 7.5 million pounds of trash is generated by the America’s aviation industry everyday? The goods news is airlines and airports are working everyday to ensure their operations are environmentally sound.
During the Commissioners Conference, we were extremely fortunate to hear from the Director of Environmental Affairs at Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air, Carol Sim. If you didn’t know already, these airlines are leading the industry in reducing in-flight waste, especially Horizon Air.
Horizon was incorporating recycling practices within their operations well before it became cool to bring your own burlap bags at the local grocery store! Since the mid 1980’s, the airline has recycled everything from aluminum cans and bottle glass to coffee grounds. They even recycle stretch wrap, cardboard and corks (btw, that glass of wine is free to Horizon passengers). Incredibly, nearly 70 % of all in-flight waste is recycled by Horizon and the airline is looking to approach 100% in a few short years.
Of course, Horizon works closely with its airport partners. Everyday, airports are utilizing their own recycling programs while assisting airlines in recycling in-flight waste. Whether placing garbage recycling receptacles throughout the airport or coordinating with airport tenants to encourage recycling participation, airports are making a difference. Just recently, SEA introduced a new program that coordinates and collects airplane recyclables. Hoping to achieve a 50% reduction in airport waste by 2014, the program is expected to reduce landfill waste and save more than $250,000 annually.
Working together, airports and airlines are doing their part to ensure our world remains a better place.