Atlanta Airport Makes Plans To Be ‘More Sustainable’
A recycling and composting center is planned near the grounds of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport plans to move recycling and composting near airport grounds.
The facility would take up 30 acres and cost $215,883 a year. It would also handle 20,000 tons of chipped yard trimmings from Atlanta’s Department of Public Works.
Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Georgia, said the recycling initiative can have a big impact.
“Large entities that sort of take responsibility for the waste that they’re producing can really be an example to others,” she said. “That can have a significant impact on a community.”
Since 2012, only 5 percent of the waste coming from the airport’s domestic terminal each year has been recycled but 85 percent of it could be.
Jambeck said building this facility could be an important first step toward sustainability.
“We would be one of the more sustainable airports, maybe not only in the nation but really in the world if we can successfully have a recycling and composting program,” she said.
The city’s transportation committee will vote on the lease Wednesday before sending it to the city council in November.
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