Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Denver International Airport‘s (DEN) innovative “Zero Waste Valet” initiative has successfully diverted 69.2 tons of waste from landfills into composting and recycling within its first six months. Launched in June 2024 as a pilot program, it boasts a remarkable 71% waste diversion rate, significantly outperforming the airport’s overall diversion rate by threefold.
This pioneering program, the first of its kind at DEN, is managed by Scraps, the Front Range’s longest-established composting company with over seven years of expertise in sustainable waste management. Initially launched with three concessions in the highly trafficked Concourse B, which sees the most passengers and offers the highest number of food and retail outlets, the program has now expanded to include 19 participating concessions.
“We are very pleased with the results Zero Waste Valet has achieved in the first six months that it’s been operating,” DEN CEO Phil Washington said. “By ensuring waste is properly managed in critical areas like concessions, we are making significant and meaningful strides toward reducing landfilled waste and carbon emissions, while demonstrating our commitment to becoming the greenest airport in the world.”
A $495,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment supported the launch of the pilot program, which was funded through the Front Range Waste Diversion initiative. This program transitioned into the Colorado Circular Communities Enterprise in May 2024.
The Zero Waste Valet team provides extensive behind-the-scenes assistance, offering training, informative signage, and essential equipment to optimize waste diversion efforts.. They also conduct periodic waste audits and utilize scales to accurately track and weigh all materials. Additionally, the team manages the collection of trash, compost, mixed recycling, and separated glass from every participating kitchen, delivering a full “valet” service that helps lighten the workload for concession staff.
“We’re thrilled to be able to help turn DEN’s zero-waste vision into reality,” Scraps Founder and CEO Christi Turner said. “This program is a tremendous opportunity for Scraps to put our proven zero-waste methodology to the test, and to partner with the DEN team to develop innovative new protocols to overcome the unique hurdles to waste diversion in our city’s busy, massive, 365-days-a-year airport.”
While many concessions were already recycling cardboard, the Zero Waste Valet program has enhanced waste diversion efforts by incorporating mixed recycling and composting. As a result, several concessions have seen their waste diversion rates increase by up to four or five times compared to before the program’s implementation. Within just three months, compost collection surpassed all other waste streams, including trash, by weight. Today, trash represents the smallest volume of waste the team handles.
Denver International Airport aims to have all concessions in Concourse B fully participating by the second quarter of 2025, with plans to eventually expand the program to the other two concourses.
