Dubai Airports reveals ambitious waste management plan

More than 2,000 tonnes of food waste will be composted per year

Dubai Airports has announced a new waste management initiative that will play an integral role in delivering its commitment to prevent 60% of all waste from Dubai International (DXB) from entering landfills by mid-2023.

As part of the new programme, the operator has implemented an innovative food waste treatment plan that’s expected to capture and compost more than 2,000 tonnes of food waste annually from food and beverage outlets, lounges and hotels across DXB terminals and concourses.

Decomposing food waste in landfills results in the emission of methane gas which is 72 times more harmful to the environment than CO2

The plan was the result of a collaboration with Dubai Airports’ waste management partner Bee’ah Group, the Sharjah-based sustainability pioneer.

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.

DXB Waste Management Initiative

To date, the programme has already achieved more than a 40% reduction in waste, including a special initiative that captures 100% of all cooking oil used in airport F&B outlets and converts it to biodiesel fuel.

Speaking about the initiative, Jamal Zaal, Dubai Airports vice president of Safety and Sustainability, said: “Capturing and diverting all forms of waste from landfills is a strategically important component of our waste management programme. 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% waste reduction objective.”

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Bee’ah Tandeef CEO Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez added: “Bee’ah Group is committed to being Dubai Airports’ partner to create a range of innovative new programmes to capture and find a useful purpose for all forms of waste in the most practical and impactful ways possible. 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.”

For more information, visit www.dubaiairports.ae