Utilize food waste for composting (off-airport only), biofuels, livestock feed, waste to energy, and other uses.
Food and organic waste comprises a large percentage of the overall waste stream and amounts to extraordinary volumes of waste, and managing organic waste presents challenges for airports. Airports are increasingly seeking solutions to managing organic waste through composting programs, which typically are managed offsite by waste haulers or other providers. Given that a large percentage of airport organic waste is generated by concessionaires, composting programs require substantial coordination and likely involve policy measures that encourage or require participation in collection of organic waste by concessionaires. Composting programs typically involve either or both “back of house” and “front of house” waste streams; back of house programs are focused on collecting pre-consumer food waste generated in the food preparation process (or in the case of sit-down food services, may also involve post-consumer food waste that is collected by a server). Front of house programs are passenger-facing and require the customer to sort their waste upon disposal. In both cases, infrastructure, signage and training are essential to reducing contamination of non-organic materials in the organic waste stream. Programs that eliminate the degree to which non-organic food packaging may be sold at airports can reduce contamination, but typically must meet standards set by the composting facility.
Practice Information
| Capital Cost: | Moderately Expensive (>$100,000 – $500,000 US) |
| O&M Cost: | High (>$100,000 US) |
| Staffing Requirements: | High (>200 hours per month) |
| Reportability of Metrics: | Quantitative metric with baseline for comparison practices and is already tracked |
| Maturity of Practice: | Proven at one or two airports |
| Energy Reduction: | No effect on energy consumption |
| Environmental Benefits: | Significant, multiple environmental benefits |
| Social Benefits: | Significant, multiple social benefits |
Airport Characteristics
Categories
Case Studies
January, 2015
Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Vancouver, Canada
In January 2015, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) commenced a Terminal-wide organics waste diversion program to complement the existing recycling program. The first days of the program focussed on Terminal concessionaire back-of-house organic material. This is the ‘low-hanging fruit’ and the least complex component of an organics diversion program because concessionaire staff, rather than passengers, are trained to recognize and separate organics from other waste streams. YVR has six food courts and each food court’s back-of-house waste was introduced one at a time and approximately every two weeks. This systematic approach allowed support staff and waste haulers to manage the unknown increase in organics over a period of weeks as opposed to days. To get concessionaires diverting organics immediately, YVR staff provided composting kits, which included wheeled green toters for capturing back-of-house compostables, sorting signage, and information on the organics program – the where, why, and how of the program. Providing green bins to concessionaires was critical as it provided tools for capture and served as a reminder to divert organics. Once green bins were delivered, concessionaires began composting and results were immediate. The more complex component has been front-of-house waste diversion – food courts. Food court waste receptacles were redesigned to accommodate the organics waste stream. Food patrons deposit their remaining food waste, along with their recyclables (containers and paper), into labelled openings. This element required the most planning and support from food court staff because patrons are often not local and are not acquainted with the requirement to divert their waste. A waste audit and survey indicated that patrons do have difficulty sorting their waste, and so additional support staffs were brought in at peak times to help with sorting at the food court waste receptacles. Since the airport has a substantial number of non-English speaking patrons, YVR opted for the use of pictograms, as opposed to language, to explain diversion at the waste receptacles. Due to the positive and quick uptake by the concessionaires, and hands-on support from YVR, the program has been remarkably successful. Within the first eight months, YVR diverted over 223 tonnes of organic waste – not including the diversion of paper and containers streams. This figure will continue to grow as staff and patrons adjust.
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