During the first six months of food and waste recycling at Denver International Airportmore than two-thirds of the waste generated by the 19 participating concessionaires was diverted from landfills.
The efforts at DIA have diverted 69.2 tons of food and other recyclable waste from landfills, DIA officials announced. A 71% waste diversion rate among these concessionaires was three times higher than the overall airport waste diversion rate, airport officials said, and four times Colorado’s 16% statewide waste diversion rate.
DIA officials in June launched the Zero Waste Valet program — a pilot project by Colorado-based company Scraps, which specializes in reducing waste sent to landfills.
It started in DIA’s Concourse B, where most passenger traffic occurs.
“We are taking significant and meaningful steps toward reducing landfill waste and carbon emissions, while demonstrating our commitment to becoming the greenest airport in the world,” said Airport Director Phil Washington.
A $495,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment helped get the project started.
A team of recyclers oversee the collection of food waste for composting and recycling, manage the signs and coordinate the separation of waste from kitchens for composting, mixed recycling and waste. While some concessionaires were already recycling cardboard, the program expanded recycling to include glass, mixed waste and food waste for composting.
Starting next spring, recycling will expand to all food concessions in Concourse B, and officials say they plan to eventually launch the service at food stores in DIA’s other two concourses.