Dubai International Airport sets target to cut down landfill waste by 60%
This includes a food treatment plan that will compost more than 2,000 tonnes of food waste
Dubai: Dubai Airports has set a new target to reduce 60 per cent of all waste from Dubai International (DXB) from entering landfills.
The program will be launched on June 5, 2022 and aims to achieve the target by mid-2023.
The program includes a food waste treatment plan that compost more than 2,000 tonnes of food waste from F&B outlets and hotels across DXB terminals.
Decomposing food waste in landfills results in the emission of methane gas which is 72 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.
Dubai Airports partnered with Sharjah’s Bee’ah Group to create the food waste plan.
It uses a special high-tech biodigester compost system installed in multiple locations across DXB that increases the speed at which food waste breaks down and becomes reusable compost and clean wastewater.
“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.”
The programme has already achieved more than 40 per cent reduction in waste, including a special initiative that captures 100 per cent of all cooking oil used in airport F&B outlets and converts it to biodiesel fuel.
“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,” said Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez, CEO Bee’ah Tandeef.