Waste Management in the Heathrow Airport - Term Paper Example

I N T R O D U C T I O N Waste is defined as "any substance or object…which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard" (UK Parliament, 1999). Jones (1996) defines waste as everything your business makes, which is not bought by your customers (cited by Pitt et al., 2002). Waste management is the collection, transportation, and efficient disposal of the waste. Waste management can involve solid, liquid, or gaseous substances. Over the last two and half decades, the UK’s waste disposal industry has evolved from the level of small-scale operators to a fully organized multi-million pound industry. The quantity of waste produced in UK is growing at the rate of 3 percent per annum and by 2020, it is expected that double the number of waste facilities would be required than at present (Pitt et al.,). Categories of waste Different types of waste fall under different categories. Waste from the subsoil, topsoil, clay, stone or hardcore are inert wastes which cause no threat of water pollution or gas pollution, while household waste including that from vegetable matter, paper, wood, and most commercial waste, may cause water pollution or cause landfill gas (SOE, 1998). Certain waste types like alkali or acid types, non-toxic metal compounds, dyestuff wastes, resins and oily wastes may be hazardous and difficult to control. Wastes from laboratory chemicals, pharmaceutical products, asbestos, and biocides are special wastes, which may be dangerous to life. Clinical wastes from the hospitals and veterinary surgeries too are hazardous or cause infection. Wastes from households, commercial and industrial premises are ‘controlled’ wastes, and some of these ‘controlled’ wastes are special if they are hazardous to life. Waste Hierarchy The waste hierarchy or the three Rs principle of waste comprises of reduction, re-use, and recovery of waste (RMCEF, n.d.). Disposal is at the bottom of the hierarchy. This has received official recognition from the government. Reduction of waste may seem to be the obvious course of action but this was not in practice until it was enforced. Specific advice is available not only on waste minimization and reduction but also on other environmental issues like energy and water savings. When reduction is not practical, re-use is the next alternative. Glass milk bottle delivery and collection is an example of this. This has not proved to be economic or convenient when recovery is resorted to. Recovery includes recycling, composting and disposal with energy recovery. Recycling requires additional energy and resources and is surrounded by misconceptions while incineration and landfill is used as the last option. To keep the time, energy, costs and the possibility of accidents to the minimum, the waste should be disposed off as close as possible to the source. If these were not under control, the benefits of recycling or compositing would be lost. This also alerts the public and the waste producers and encourages waste reduction. This Proximity principle in conjunction with the waste hierarchy results in Best Practical Environmental Option (BPEO). BPEO provides the most benefit or the least damage to the environment, at affordable cost, both in long as well as short term. Legislation The role of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act has been the catalyst for this consolidation. The local government usually develops the waste framework or guidelines for the industries to manage the waste. Apart from waste prevention, landfill and incineration are the two most commonly used methods of disposing the waste. Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive Cost (BATNEEC), is an important element of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It has helped to upgrade the old processes to meet new standards. This forms a part of the Integrated Pollution Control (IPC), which includes organic waste treatment, incineration, and disposal of chemicals. Heathrow Airport Heathrow is the world’s busiest airport and according to BAA, Heathrow Airport will handle 87 million passengers a year by 2015 if it continues to operate within its existing limits and thereafter 90-95 million passengers a year (SEEDA, 2005). BAA also forecasts an increase in cargo from 1.36 million tonnes to 1.8 tonnes by 2015. Growth in cargo and passenger traffic will be achieved through larger aircrafts. Heathrow currently supports 245,000 jobs across the country and about 9 million foreigners fly into Heathrow every year. Waste at Heathrow arises from different sources and can be classified into various categories, which include solid waste and waste water. Construction of Terminal 5 (T5) is one of the largest construction sites in Europe. This report highlights two waste streams – waste from the construction of T5 and the waste stream disposed through BAA contract. Waste assessment at Heathrow Globally airports have a negative impact on noise and air pollution, waste production from food and paper, and waste water from different sources. Waste from office of which paper forms the bulk, and water contribute to environmental effects as significantly as air and noise do. Increased traffic means increase in the amount of waste produced on site. This in turn increases the cost of waste disposal. According to McGuinness (2001), waste disposal at airports represent a major cost and has a significant impact on the environment (cited by Pitt et al.,). A range of operations at Heathrow, which include aircraft terminals, offices, engineering, cargo, construction, and demolition, all generate waste. Different management techniques can be applied to different operations. Waste at Heathrow include all the categories as discussed above like the inert wastes, the general waste like paper board, etc, scrap metal, food waste, chemicals and special wastes which comprises of those which are hazardous to health. Waste from construction of T5 The terminal 5 (T5) construction at Heathrow Airport is currently one of the largest construction sites in Europe. The construction started in September 2002 and the terminal is scheduled to open in 2008. This entails an investment of £4.2 billion and will take 37 million-person hours to complete the project (IEMA, n.d.). This required two rivers - the Duke of Northumberland River and the Longford River – to be diverted from their original alignment through the middle of the site. This diversion also involved the realignment of the live carriageway. The construction requires the movement of 6.5 million cubic meters of earth. The project includes the main terminal, two satellite terminals, and an air traffic control tower, apart from connections to public transport, road works, rails, and tunnels. For such a mammoth project, BAA has designed the resources use and efficiency programs in line with Standardization, Prefabrication, and Modularization (SPAM). Use of toxic and non-sustainable materials has been kept to the minimum. The environmental risks and oppurtunities have been identified, measured, and managed efficiently. In terms of COSHH, materials with high amount of health or environmental risks have been eliminated. Engineers endeavor to use environmentally preferable options and innovative materials. Waste and resource management is a top priority here as with all other BAA projects. On an average, about 85% of the waste from the site is recovered and recycled. Logistics management is a very efficient method to control waste. BAA has ensured everybody involved in the project is efficient about needs and requirement so that there is no over-ordering. This itself reduces waste from production and construction. Innovative resource use also minimizes waste. The most remarkable achievement has been the changes in the pavement construction and design which has resulted in savings of 14,000m3 of lime and 33,000m3 of cement. Due to this, there has been an estimated indirect savings of 100,000 tonnes of CO2 through the reduction of lime and cement use. This has also increased the strength of the pavements and the parking stand to keep up with the new generation aircrafts. With 25% of reduction in the bulk material used, there have been 27,000 less deliveries to the site, which has resulted in less noise and air pollution. Analysis of waste at T5 Thus it is evident that at the construction site, BAA uses the ‘best practice’ at every stage of waste disposal. They employ the waste hierarchy. They first try to reduce waste, for which the process of ordering itself is stringent. Heathrow authorities modified designs to reduce material requirement, which automatically reduces waste. When further reduction is not possible, and since re-use is not always possible in construction, they recover value from the waste by recycling. They are able to recover about 85 percent of the waste from the site. Waste water is another stream to be tackled at construction sites which at T5 has been very effectively managed. They do not use 100% potable water but instead match the supply to the need. About 70% of the requirement is for non-potable water and at T5 rain water is collected and used with minimal treatment. This reduces time, cost and process for treatment of water which may collect if 100% potable water is used as is the norm at most construction sites. Using sustainable materials and new technologies further help to keep waste management minimum. BAA contract for waste disposal The Property Department is responsible for waste contract and it is responsible for waste disposal not only for waste generated through its own source but also that generated by its partners. There are several other department in the waste management chain who are responsible at each stage of waste disposal or waste management. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) also have a high proportion of the aircraft waste. The waste generated under the activities managed by the BAA waste contract about 25,000 tonnes of waste was generated in 1999-2000. The amount of waste generated has been constantly increasing with increase in traffic. It was over 30,000 in 2005. The waste disposed through the BAA contract cost £1.6 million per annum. Until 1994, all the waste at Heathrow was just disposed to landfill but from 1995, they started segregating waste for recycling. To facilitate this, separate containers were installed around the airport and an awareness-training program was introduced for the staff handling the waste. In 1996, some waste was sent for incineration with energy recovery, prime reason being the compactors could be emptied at night. In 1998 approximately 67% of all waste managed by BAA Heathrow was disposed of to landfill, 29% was incinerated with energy recovery and 4% was recycled. Containers were collected at regular intervals all through the day and night and taken to the appropriate facility. BAA Heathrow the reviewed its waste management system and to introduce sustainable waste management initiatives, they signed a new contract for a 30-month period. They built infrastructure to take care of the requirements for waste disposal. The purpose of introducing efficient waste management system is to improve economies of scale and improve productivity. BAA wanted to have a single waste contract for all airports under its management but the proximity principle would have to be kept in mind. Pooled together may be commercially viable for the contractors but may not be practical for the individual airports especially where recovery and recycling are concerned. Integrating waste management with hygiene and security is challenging. Waste disposal through contracts requires placing bins for segregation at fixed sites around the airport but these were perceived as security risks. They have not been sanctioned by the airport safety and security functions (LHR, 2000). All previous recycling attempts have not been very successful at Heathrow for several reasons. Space constraints, problems with contamination of segregated materials with other wastes, prevented recycling from increasing beyond 3% in the initial years. Constraints in recycling forced the authorities to look into waste avoidance, the top most in the waste hierarchy, as a measure to control waste. Unless waste can be properly segregated and stored, recycling is not only difficult but also a costly process. Heathrow had to move up the waste hierarchy and resort to incineration with energy recovery approximately 79% of waste collected under the present contract. The benefits of energy recovery are that the calorific value of the waste is recovered and the incinerator is in a position to supply 50MW to the national grid (LHR). This results in weekly waste vehicle movements, which in turn reduces local traffic, air pollution, and consumption of natural resources. Waste can be collected at night, which reduces local traffic congestion and airside traffic congestion. Besides, storing it at a local transfer station enables sorting, and segregation for recycling. Thus, once again. Heathrow has been able to integrate the environmental protection along with the management of waste. Analysis of contract waste at Heathrow Energy recovery is superior to recycling within the waste hierarchy. This was a major step taken by them towards sustainable waste management. There has been a constant endeavor to reduce the quantity of waste being generated. Waste is everyone’s responsibility. Besides, waste has an impact on the environment and influences the economy. With the passenger traffic constantly increasing, it is difficult to estimate the rise in waste and the efficiency of its management. BAA Heathrow targets to reduce the waste per passenger, which is a part of the waste managed under the waste contract. They wanted to reduce the waste generated per passenger by 10% by 2005, but on the contrary, it has increased. Unless drastic measures are taken, this would continue to increase at a phenomenal rate. BAA Heathrow has formed a corporate waste group, which has representatives from several functions across the group. BAA has been utilizing resources efficiently to reduce the amount of waste produced. Besides, the waste that is produced is dealt to contribute to sustainable development. Heathrow Policies and targets Heathrow has developed its environmental management program in accordance with the environmental policy and in line with the national and international regulations. The government has set a series of waste related targets to reduce the waste in UK. The Heathrow authorities have incorporated the government regulations in their plans for future. The EU Framework Directive aims to encourage waste minimization, application of cleaner technologies and new disposal techniques and use of less benign products that ultimately become waste. They have applied the three principles which form the basis of the government’s strategy which include the waste hierarchy, the proximity principle and the BPEO. The authorities at Heathrow airport have been effectively trying to find the most effective environmental solution under the waste hierarchy. Initiatives taken by authorities Further steps have been taken by the authorities. Heathrow increased the contract waste recycled from 20% last year to 25% by March 2006. They had adopted an integrated approach to waste management by reducing the waste and targeting to keep passenger waste increase at 0% (Waste, 2006). They further plan to increase the recycling of waste to 40% by 2010. BAA is confident that all their plans comply with the legislative requirements and the hazardous waste regulations. They have identified and documented each type of waste, its source, location, persons responsible, storage, and the waste streams. They have improved upon the recycling of glass and office paper collections. Hazardous Waste Collections Act has come into force in July 2005. BAA Heathrow has acted upon this and insisted that the producers of this waste are responsible for its management. Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM) confirms that Heathrow airport had achieved its target for 2006 of waste recycled or composted through the waste management contract. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulation 2002 were made under the Health and Safety at Work Act. It aims to protect workers from adverse health effects, which could arise due to exposure to hazardous substances. This also highlights the steps needed to control exposure. Some solids may be apparently harmless but when abraded to dust, they may produce gas, which when inhaled is harmful. Heathrow waste strategy abides by these regulations too, which has specifically been observed at the construction site of T5. SWOT analysis of the waste strategy The waste strategy defined by Heathrow is in line with the government policies and the UK legislation. It also abides by the corporate objectives as it constantly endeavors to reduce landfill and move more towards recycling process. It has positive environmental effect and exhibits efficient use of resources. It creates awareness amongst its staff and provides opportunities to the public to become conscious of the waste. There is improved liaison with its business partners and the waste exchange benefits the community as a whole. There is a weakness in the strategy as it is resource intensive. Work force is required to place, collect, and segregate from the stored bins, apart from the security hazard in placing the bins. It requires a change in the culture. MFF imposes constraints on recycling of airline waste and wants segregation close to the source. Forecast and waste management at Heathrow According to Brown & Pitt (2001), due to globalization and developing economies, growth in air travel is likely to increase by over 100 percent in the next twenty years and the facilities at airports are not adequate to handle this growth. Passenger numbers in UK airports have increased from less than 50 million in 1975 to around 175 million in 2000 (DETR, 2000 cited by Smith et al.,). This has led to an increase in the total waste tonnage at airports while the waste disposal system has grown in a very ad hoc way. In UK, waste produced is growing at the rate of 3 percent per annum and by 2020, UK will require double the waste disposal facilities than at present. The chart below shows the steady increase upto 2001: Efficient waste management first demands reduction in the production of waste, which in turn results in reduction of disposal costs. The first recourse after waste reduction is landfill but most sites are now saturated. Long-term strategies are required as UK lags behind many European countries in recycling and generally waste management. The UK government has a lukewarm approach to this problem and this needs to be addressed urgently. Recycling and proximity principle have to be applied to keep costs low. A waste management audit conducted by Virgin-Atlantic at UK airports revealed that there was no clear-cut responsibility for waste management leading to inefficiencies (Branson, 2005). The audit trailed the waste stream from first disposal in the internal waste bin, through external storage and collection by a waste contractor, and on to final disposal. There were a wide variety of contractors and accountability for the final disposal of waste was minimal. The recycling system had been effective in the past but employees’ performance had deteriorated over the years. Greater control of the waste is required and it should be centralized to enhance accountability. Consultants should be employed to suggest improvements in the system. The number of collections by contractors should be minimized. Conclusion This paper has identified the waste generation at Heathrow airport and studied two waste streams that are currently in use. While Heathrow does have an integrated approach to waste management, it does not compromise on security measures at the time of planning waste collection and disposal. Waste reduction, re-use and recycling are important policies in waste management. Heathrow follows the strict guidelines and is making efforts to minimize waste. Long-term plans include completely stopping landfill operations. They follow the proximity principle and concentrate on energy recovery but with passenger and air traffic on the increase, unless waste reduction is applied, waste streams would be choked. Landfill is already becoming difficult around cities and besides, landfill tax has to be paid also. Space constraints, security risks, and onerous nature of segregation has affected the recycling process to some extent but despite these constraints, Heathrow airport has managed to exceed its target and hopes to take this to 40% by 2010. The proximity principle has to be looked into as MAFF insists that the segregation take place as close to the source as possible. The waste strategy not only reduces the amount of waste produced, it also makes use of the waste produced. BAA Heathrow constantly invests in new technologies and follows a waste exchange scheme to benefit the community. They incorporate performance targets in waste management into their service contracts. They have training and awareness programs for their people responsible for the related tasks. Heathrow also takes into account waste and environmental impact generated by the construction and refurbishment activities in its area. It is conscious of rationalizing waste management to achieve waste reduction, re-use and recycling of building materials. Regular audits help ensure suitable steps and action are taken at the right time and strategies altered to suit the requirements. The senior managers and the key staff are involved in planning and implementation of their plans. Heathrow authorities have also demonstrated an integrated approach with the construction in progress at T5. Efficient use of resources, compliance with the requirements of COSHH, innovative designs and new technologies all contribute towards efficient waste management while keeping in mind the health and safety hazards. Despite all these, the growing passenger traffic, the increase in the number of airlines and flights, do not suggest that the facilities available at the moment are adequate. Further investigation is necessary to incorporate the best approach and UK is far behind other European countries. Benchmarking is essential to improve services and waste disposal. Recommendations Currently there are many different waste streams at Heathrow airport through different contracts. Apart from the annual BAA contracts, there are contracts with the airlines, the construction waste, general waste and special wastes. If these can be consolidated under one contract, the results could be economically feasible and viable for the BAA. If the waste can be properly segregated and stored, it will not get contaminated. If uncontaminated, it is easier to recycle. Landfill sites are saturated and concentration has to be on reuse and recycling. In line with the recommendations of Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) the following tips could be helpful in reducing office waste (Pitt et al.,). Providing a recycling bin next to the photocopier would save time and cost in segregation. Checking spelling and grammar before printing, narrower margins, trail printing before final printing of a big batch, reuse of envelopes with sticky labels, recycling of toner cartridges and old computer disks, use of biodegradable corn starch pens, and pencils made from recycled materials would greatly reduce the impact of collection, transportation, segregation and disposal of waste. Heathrow airport could further follow the example of Birmingham Airport, which has an incentive scheme where they donate £100 for every 100 tonnes of newspaper collected to a charity of the participant’s choice. Excess food from the airport catering or passenger waste can be sent to the charity or community centers. Munich airport collects the waste from the kitchen and restaurants and sends them to a pig farm to be processed for feed. Taxes and fees should be imposed for waste removal and re-usage made attractive so that people resort to reusing rather than disposal. Vending machines at Munich airport have returnable bottles. Besides, they have a modern recycling plant close to the airport. Imposing charges on producers of waste would greatly reduce waste production. Leeds airport does this and has found tremendous results. The airlines should follow strict guidelines in separating the waste on board itself, which would minimize the time and costs involved in recycling. Austrian airlines have proved that this is possible. Performance incentives to the airline crew can work wonders. Another strategy that has found to be effective is at Copenhagen airport where the airport staff in the terminal building sort the passenger waste as they empty the bins. These are some of the changes that Heathrow could adopt for better solid waste management. People too have to be educated to respect instructions at airport. At Vienna airport, the public bins have four separate-sized compartments labeled paper, glass, metal, and ‘other’. This requires educating the public and this should start from the school level. Today most people you unaware and wonder why separate bins are found at certain places. If similar strategies are implemented at the housing societies as well, with proper information about the savings in cost and pollution, people will definitely co-operate. Lack of information makes people reluctant to utilize services. Kindly note the only new source used is Branson (2005), http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/tridion/images/csr2004to2005_tcm4-13537.pdf 20July 2006 Read More