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AIRPORTS WASTE RECYCLING CONSIDERATIONS AND EQUIPMENT

 

(For More Information Read the Article Below the Equipment - Material Table)

	Waste & Recycling Equipment Category	Brief Description / Typical Application	Main Material Classes (Select the materials below for additional information)
	Smart-Pack - Automatic Compacting Receptacle	For the concourse areas, quick service dining areas and other public areas	Mixed Trash
	60” High Density Cardboard Baler	Up to 1,000 pound bales of Cardboard	Cardboard	Newsprint	PET
	60” High Density Shrink Wrap Baler	Up to 800 pound bales of Shrink Wrap	Shrink Wrap
	60” Super High Density PET Baler	Up to 800 pound bales of PET	PET
	Bottle and Can Crusher	Airport Recycling of PET and cans is easy with this Multiple Bay Crusher which allows for easy separation and baling of different materials.	PET	Cans
	6 Yd Front & Rear Load Compacting Dumpster	Outdoor Compacting Dumpsters are tipped onsite by Haulers	Mixed Trash
	Container Ready Compactors	Compacts the trash in your existing 96 gal or 64 gal containers	Mixed Trash	Recyclables
	Bin Compactors	Easy to use and easy to feed large volumes of trash manually, by conveyor or air	Mixed Trash	Recyclables
	39 Yard Self Contained Compactor	Outdoor Compactor hauled directly to the landfill.	Mixed Trash
	Single Stream Self Contained Compactors (with Two Compartments)	Large volume facilities such as Airports can use one dual compartment compactor for processing both Recyclables and non-recyclables	Recyclables and Mixed Trash
	Stationary Compactors	For large volumes of dry waste at Airports	Dry Waste	Cardboard
	Pre-Crushers	For handling Bulky Materials at Airports	Bulky Waste
	Lamp / Bulb Crusher	For crushing Fluorescent Bulbs	Bulbs only
	Glass Bottle Crusher	For Crushing Glass	Glass bottles
	Outdoor Hopper Compactors	Easy to Feed from a Dock – Easy to empty	Mixed Trash

 

Airports produce a tremendous amount of waste  Studies show that the average amount of waste generated is 1.28 pounds per passenger.  In 2004, about 425,000 tons of waste was generated at airports in the United States.  This is the equivalent of a city of over 500,000 people. 

Although a recycling program takes effort, with focus on the right areas first, a payback from the program is usually very quick.  Airports should consider recycling efforts in retail and restaurant tenant areas, terminal areas, and administrative areas.  Each of these three areas has it's own unique waste.  Because of this, separate recycling programs for each area should be considered in order to be successful.  Processes, systems and equipment must be implemented on the ground and in-flight in order for a Recycling Program to run smoothly in such a large environment.

According to the National Resource Defense Council, the typical airport waste stream consists of:

• 1% Aluminum
• 2% Glass
• 2% Plastic bottles
• 9% Other plastics
• 12% Cardboard
• 14% Newspaper
• 14% Other paper
• 20% Compostables
• 26% Non-Recyclables

Based on these statistics, over 75% of the waste stream of an average airport is recyclable or compostable.  (Compostable and Recyclable items include aluminum, glass, plastics, paper products, food waste, and some food-contaminated packaging.)   Revenue can be generated from the sale of recyclables such as paper, aluminum, and some plastics.

Aluminum

Although aluminum accounts for only 1% of the typical airport waste stream, you may find it surprising that the United States Airline industry discards enough aluminum cans to build 58 Boeing 747 airplanes every year.   Aluminum cans should be flattened and baled for pickup by a recycling hauler. Recycling collection containers can be placed in the terminal and retail areas for ease of use by customers.  Since the majority of aluminum generated in airports is beverage cans, collection containers that have round slots (size of an aluminum can) are commonly used to keep aluminum separated from other waste at the point of generation. 

Plastic

The airline industry discarded 9,000 tons of plastic in 2004 (according to the NRDC).  Recyclable PETE usually consists of spent soda bottles and some custom plastic bottles.  HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) are usually natural colored bottles like milk containers, water containers and some juice containers.  HDPE can also be recycled.  A vertical baler can be used to bale plastics.

Fluorescent Lamps

Spent fluorescent lamps are regulated by U.S. EPA because they contain mercury. Airports use a substantial amount of fluorescent lamps which makes them a lucrative recycling material.  You should always keep fluorescent lamps contained and away from customers and employees for safety. To prepare them for recycling and keep them contained, a Fluorescent Lamp Crusher is the best bet.  A Fluorescent Lamp Crusher is the answer to efficiency and recycling of fluorescent lamps. 

Paper Products: Cardboard (OCC), Newspaper, and Other Paper

Paper products account for approximately 40% of the airport industries waste.  Starting with a focus on recycling paper can divert the largest amount of waste away from landfills.  14% of an average airports waste falls into the category of 'other paper'.  This category includes items such as magazines, office paper and mixed paper. While cardboard accounts for 12% and Newspaper accounts for 14% of an average airports waste.

Cardboard and newspaper recycling should be placed as a priority in the Recycling Program of an airport.  Vertical and Horizontal balers can be used to bale corrugated cardboard and newspaper separately in order to prepare bales for pickup by a recycling company.  A two year or less payback can be anticipated from the use of Vertical balers to bale cardboard and newspaper in an airport.

Waste and Recycling Equipment in an Airport

An example we will use is Portland International Airport (PDX).  The waste and recycling equipment utilized at Portland International Airport is two 30-yard compactors for trash, one 40-yard compactor for cardboard, one 30-yard Roll-Off compactor for commingled plastic, paper, tin and aluminum .. one 30-yard Roll-Off for plastics and one 30-Yard Roll-Off for glass; and four standard dumpsters for food waste. (Data from 2004.)  PDX achieved a recycling rate of 20% in 2004, recycling 538 tons of waste.

 

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For assistance in determining the best approach for your particular facility, email WasteCare Corporation at sales@wastecare.com and in addition to your contact information, let us know the approximate volume of trash being hauled from your facility each week or month and the approximate waste hauling cost each month and we will be glad to give you some suggestions.

 

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