(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the operator of Abu Dhabi's five airports, released its waste recycling report for 2011, which reveals that ADAC reached the recycling of 23.6% of waste generated at Abu Dhabi International Airport and the company's headquarter by the end of 2011.
This equals approximately to 244,432 kg of waste from a total of 1,035,727 kg. Throughout the year the type of materials that were recycled included wood, cardboard, plastic and paper, with cardboard amounting to the highest figure after general waste An average of 85,600 kg of cardboard was recycled each month, followed by paper with an average of 43,446 kg and timber at 36,760 kg.
The company's waste management strategy was accompanied by a company-wide recycling awareness campaign, aimed at inspiring and motivating all staff members to play their part in recycling waste material.
Eng. Ahmed Al Haddabi, Chief Operating Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports Company, comments, "We are glad to have achieved such results, particularly during 2011 when we took on the complete refurbishment project of the busy Terminal 1, as this illustrates increased awareness across our staff members on the importance of environmental responsibility. We will continue to drive this initiative forward over the coming year, as part of ADAC's ongoing commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen and a leader in airport sustainability."
The report also revealed that engine and cooking oil, metal, and paper material were the most wasted materials in the airport. The different materials have either been reused within the company or transferred to other organisations such as Masdar which recycles ADAC's wood waste for reuse in landscaping. The company is currently working in conjunction with Environment Agency and in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group to continuously improve its sustainability performance.
A further sustainable initiative, in November 2011 Abu Dhabi International Airport became the first Carbon Accredited Airport in the Asia Pacific region under the Airport Council International (ACI)'s Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme. ACI EUROPE also released last week an update on its flagship climate change initiative detailing the progress made by airports in lowering their own CO2 emissions. As of January 2012, some 55 airports in Europe (plus Abu Dhabi Airport in Asia Pacific), are now Airport Carbon Accredited at one of the four available levels of certification ('Mapping', 'Reduction', 'Optimisation' and 'Neutrality'). These airports welcome some 52% of European passenger traffic each year.
Since its launch in Europe in June 2009, the institutionally endorsed programme Airport Carbon Accreditation has seen significant progression. In November 2011, the programme expanded to the Asia-Pacific region, gaining the support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at that time too.
