Working together to decrease our impact on the environment.

Waste management at Adelaide Airport is driven by Zero Waste SA’s hierarchy of waste management: reduction, reuse, recycle, recovery, treatment and disposal and is underpinned by AAL’s Waste Management Strategy.

Waste streams generated on-airport include organics (e.g. food), paper and cardboard (e.g. newspapers), aluminium cans, plastics, electronic, construction, hazardous (e.g. waste oil, fluorescent tubes) and green waste.

Recycling rates increased significantly with the implementation in 2010 of public space recycling in Terminal 1 for general, comingled recyclable and paper/cardboard waste streams. This scheme complements the existing recycling system available to retail and airline tenants.

Further, after the successful implementation of a food organics recycling trial involving two retailers within Terminal 1 the scheme has been expanded to all food and beverage tenants. Food scraps and coffee grinds are taken by a waste contractor to a composting facility where it is turned into a quality compost product that is sold back to businesses and the community. Similarly, AAL mulches and composts garden waste on airport for reuse.

Mature recycling programs exist in AAL offices and many tenancies for paper and cardboard, printer cartridges, waste oil, batteries, drink containers, construction waste and food waste. Significant proportion of demolition waste from AAL construction projects is recycled into a product that can be used in road construction and maintenance.

AAL works collaboratively with tenants to reduce waste and seeks to positively influence their environmental performance.