Waste management –recycling instead of discarding

All kinds of waste is produced at the airport. To reduce the amount of unsorted waste and increase the collection of recyclables, 19 different kinds of waste are collected separately at the Circle, for example. The most significant types of waste are:

• Paper
• Cardboard
• Wood
• Metal 
• Other recyclables
• Hazardous waste 
• Unsorted waste

The airport-wide waste concept follows the principle of avoid, recycle and dispose of in an environmentally-friendly way. The most businesses on the site, Flughafen Zürich AG takes care of disposal. Collection vehicles transport waste and recyclables directly from the users to external disposal companies. Alternatively, waste is collected at the central collection points and then disposed of externally.

The consistent collection of recyclables is important. Wood, metal, paper, cardboard, plastic wrappers, PET and other recyclables can be recycled. Waste separation is encouraged through a holistic collection infrastructure and an electronic billing system based on the "polluter pays" principle. But even unsorted waste has a value. In Switzerland, all unsorted waste is burned, which produces thermal energy which is then used in district heating networks and for producing electricity.