Dubai International Airport sets goal to reduce landfill waste by 60 per cent

The airport will collect and compost leftover food and cooking oil from all outlets on site

Dubai Airports aims to reduce waste sent to landfill from DXB by 60 per cent within the next year. AP

Dubai Airports has set a goal to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill from Dubai International Airport by 60 per cent.

The new waste management programme will be launched on June 5, World Environment Day 2022, and aims to hit its goal of cutting landfill waste by summer next year.

The programme includes a food waste treatment plan that will collect and compost the more than 2,000 tonnes created by the airport's restaurants, lounges and hotels.

Food left to decompose in landfills creates methane gas, a chemical compound 72 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

Dubai Airports is working with Sharjah recycling company Beeah, which uses a biodigester compost system to rapidly break down leftover food into compost and clean wastewater. This system has been installed across the airport.

The programme has already reduced food waste by more than 40 per cent, and spurred the implementation of an initiative that collects 100 per cent of cooking oil used by the outlets to convert it to biodiesel fuel.

“Capturing and diverting all forms of waste from landfills is a strategically important component of our waste management programme,” said Jamal Zaal, vice president of safety and sustainability at Dubai Airports.

“While airport operations contribute a very small percentage of the overall waste generated at DXB, we are working in close partnership with airlines, F&B facilities, and all other partners across the airport to make a unified commitment to achieving and surpassing our 60 per cent waste reduction objective.”

World Environment Day is led by the UN Environment Programme and is observed by people and companies. Held annually since 1974, it has grown into one of the largest platforms for environmental outreach.

This year's host is Sweden, using the campaign slogan “Only One Earth”.

“Beeah Group is committed to being Dubai Airports’ partner to create a range of innovative programmes to capture and find a useful purpose for all forms of waste in the most practical and impactful ways possible,” said Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez, chief executive of Beeah Tandeef.

“Deploying Power Knot technology across all DXB terminals and concourses is a great example of that innovation and will put us on the path to achieve our goal of eliminating food waste and achieving our waste diversion targets.”

Dubai Airport's 60th birthday: in pictures

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  Dubai International Airport celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020. Here passengers board a plane parked on a sand compacted runway in the 1960s. All photos: Dubai Airports

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  Dubai airport in the 1960s. By 1968 the airport was served by nine international airlines flying to 20 destinations

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  Developments in the 1970s included a new three-storey terminal building, control tower, additional taxiways and longer runways

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  The airport's second runway, equipped with the latest technology, was opened in 1984

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  The transit lounge at Dubai International airport in the 1970s

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  The air traffic control tower at Dubai International airport in the 1970s

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  The airport in the 1970s

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  Dubai Duty Free began operations in 1983 and had an annual turnover of $20 million in its first year

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  An aerial view of the airport in the 1970s

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  Dubai International Airport has served more than a billion passengers travelling on almost 7.5 million flights since it opened in 1960

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  Terminal 3, the exclusive terminal for Emirates airline, was opened in 2008. It is the world’s largest single terminal

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  In 2014, Dubai International welcomed 70.4 million passengers, becoming the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic

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  The airport welcomed its one billionth international passenger in 2018

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  It retained its title of the world’s busiest airport for international passengers for the sixth consecutive year in 2019, with 86.4 million passengers

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  Dubai airport in the 1990s. It was the first to introduce e-gates in 2002. Now, millions of passengers use the smart gates, which require residents to scan their passport or Emirates ID to avoid long queues