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UK’s Gatwick Airport Turns Waste into Energy Via Onsite Processing Facility
With its new facility, the airport turns Category 1 waste and other types of organic waste into biomass fuel to power the processing plant and to heat the airport’s North Terminal.
1 Min Read
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In November 2016, Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, UK, began operating its onsite waste processing and biomass generation facility, making it the only airport in the world to dispose of Category 1 waste onsite. With its new facility, the airport turns Category 1 waste and other types of organic waste into biomass fuel to power the processing plant and to heat the airport’s North Terminal.
In addition to this large milestone, airports across the U.S. are ramping up their waste and recycling efforts.
airport-technology.com has more details:
The environmental discussion around aviation tends to focus on the planes themselves. Though still a significant emitter of emissions, better engines and advances in aerodynamics mean that modern aircraft are considerably quieter, more fuel-efficient and less polluting than they were only 10 years ago.
What is often overlooked, however, is the waste produced by airports, which today function as cargo and transit hubs, maintenance centres, shopping malls, restaurants and offices – all rolled into one. According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority, in 2013 the UK’s largest airport Heathrow produced 26,693 tonnes of waste, equivalent to 0.37kg per passenger; and that’s factoring in a comprehensive recycling system that saw only 5.9% of waste go to landfill.
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