Waste and circular economy

The Zurich Airport Group seeks to eliminate waste wherever possible and to close material loops. With a view to the circular economy, it is increasingly focusing on the resource-efficient construction of buildings.

Relevance

Airports are resource-intensive infrastructures comprising various buildings above and below the ground and require vast amounts of materials for their operation. They therefore hold great potential to contribute to creating a circular economy by enabling products and materials to be kept in circulation so that fewer primary raw materials are required and less waste is generated. The first step is to slow down and reduce the material loops by creating and procuring durable, repairable and reusable products. The second priority is then to close these material loops.

To date the focus has centered primarily on waste and recycling materials at the end of their life as a wide variety of waste is produced at airports, both during operations and when maintaining and developing their infrastructure. At the Zurich site, Zurich Airport Ltd. has defined a waste concept setting out the applicable principles so all waste from the airport will be recycled or safely disposed of in a lawful, economic and environmentally friendly way. Zurich Airport Ltd. collects the majority of waste produced by itself and its partners at the airport and sends it to appropriate recycling points. This includes a large amount of general waste, paper and cardboard, along with waste collected by aircraft cabin cleaners. Waste that is collected and disposed of by third parties (e.g. aircraft catering) is also included in the waste statistics of Zurich Airport.

Construction work results in considerable amounts of material for recycling or disposal. As most of this waste is either recycled or disposed of by the contractors themselves, it is not recorded in the waste statistics for Zurich Airport.

The avoidance and recycling of waste is a priority environmental measures at the international sites too. Both in Chile and Brazil as well as in India, the Zurich Airport Group is endeavouring to close material loops and avoid the negative environmental impacts caused by waste.

Approach

The concept of the circular economy has gained added importance within the Zurich Airport Group during the year under review. As a promoter and operator of building infrastructure, the company is focusing in particular on the significant material flows involved in construction processes. For future new infrastructure projects, work is underway at the Zurich site to create “material passports” containing information about the circular use aspects of materials and the environmental impact of buildings. This will boost circularity both in terms of operations and construction.

Where waste is concerned, the principle of elimination is the most important. Zurich Airportʼs waste policy therefore follows the basic hierarchy of: prevent – recycle – dispose of responsibly. Material loops are closed and material streams minimised wherever possible. In line with the originator pays principle, the costs arising from waste disposal are passed on to the producers to create a financial incentive for them to generate less waste.

Waste disposal principles are included in the general environmental protection regulations which form part of the companyʼs tenancy agreements and ground handling licences. Another document, the general waste disposal concept (GEK), governs construction waste at Zurich Airport and ensures its proper disposal.

Waste is avoided by significantly reducing the amount of materials used or using materials that can subsequently be returned to the materials cycle. Wherever possible, any waste still remaining is collected in separate fractions so the materials can be reused as secondary raw materials.

Most materials that cannot be recycled can be thermally utilised. They can be burned in a waste incineration plant and the heat produced can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings in a district heating network. Non-recyclable waste is usually sent to the waste incineration plant in Hagenholz in Zurich, only six kilometres away.

During the reporting period, a total of 15,574 tonnes of waste was disposed of at Zurich Airport. This is around 20% more than in the previous year, which reflects the increase in traffic volumes.

Waste management is one of the highest priority matters to be tackled by the companyʼs subsidiaries abroad. The majority-owned airports in Brazil have set themselves the goal of drastically reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill. By 2025 they are seeking to dispose of 90% of the waste produced each year using better disposal methods than sending to landfill. The interim target of 70% for the reporting year was clearly exceeded at 78%. Once Noida Airport in India commences operation, it aims to not send any waste to landfill at all.

Key data

Waste amount