Waste minimisation

The unavoidable truth is, we generate waste. From what we buy, to how we operate, to how we dispose.

Strict biosecurity requirements greatly impact how we can manage our waste. Prevention is key, so we are implementing solutions to avoid waste from the outset, such as educating travellers ahead of their journey on what can pass through security and what can’t, and we are diverting ‘good’ items, such as lost property to charitable purposes.

We are actively working with our partners to recover resources effectively, which includes a composting programme that aims to collect all food waste generated at the airport terminals, and we are hand separating out recyclables from airline cabin waste in our Transitional Waste Facility.

We’re committed to reducing waste and optimising resource use throughout all our operations, with an overarching vision to cultivate a circular airport precinct. Some of our initiatives are:

Reduce through waste avoidance

• Jet air hand dryers are replacing paper towels in bathrooms as we complete upgrades, with the potential to save up to 100 tonnes of waste each year.
• Water refill stations throughout the terminals encourage travellers to use their own reusable water bottles.
• We are working with our food retailers to replace plastic food containers and cutlery with reusable or paper/compostable options.

Recover waste more effectively

• We are improving our waste collection facilities with a $5m Transitional Waste Facility which handles waste from both terminals and recovers recyclable items from airline cabin waste.
• In FY24 our composting programme diverted 185 tonnes of food waste from landfill. We are actively working on initiatives to increase the diversion to include all food waste from all areas of the terminals.
• Disposable coffee cups within the airport terminal are required to be commercially compostable.
• We are constantly working with our waste management and cleaning partners to ensure that our recycling streams have minimal contamination.

Innovate through circular solutions

• Over 100,000 tonnes of concrete that formed the runway touchdown zones is being crushed and reused in the new airfield.
• We have sent redundant uniforms for upcycling into new and innovative products.