Istanbul Airport has become the first airport in Turkey to be issued with a Zero Waste Certificate following the implementation of a new waste management system.
The certificate was awarded as part of the Zero Waste project, a scheme overseen by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, with the aim of preventing waste and increasing the efficiency of resource usage.
Zero Waste is defined as a waste prevention approach that includes the reduction of the amount of waste generated, the establishment of an effective collection system, and the recycling of waste. Airport operator İGA has established its waste management infrastructure with a system where waste is effectively separated at source to meet this goal.
All waste is divided into five different categories: paper-carton, packaging, glass, organic and domestic waste. Containers are situated in areas where waste is generated within the airport, all of which are able to accept these five waste types. The waste is retrieved by waste collection vehicles and then sorted at the airport’s Solid Waste Plant to be sent for recycling and storage.
Kadri Samsunlu, the chief executive officer of iGA Airport Operation, commented, “We are designing all the processes at Istanbul Airport in line with our environment and sustainability policies. We aim to achieve maximum savings from the perspective of Zero Waste Principles; 100 tons of waste is being generated daily at Istanbul Airport and 30% of it, meaning 30 tons, is being sent to recycling.”
