Waste-to-energy plant opens at UK airport

The international logistics firm DHL Supply Chain and London’s Gatwick Airport have opened a new waste management plant – becoming the first airport in the world to turn airport waste, such as food and packaging, which it classifies as Category 1 material, into energy onsite.

DHL’s new £3.8 million ($4.7 million) waste plant not only disposes of Category 1 waste safely onsite, but converts it and other organic waste into energy to heat Gatwick’s waste management site and power the site's water recovery system. DHL says the plant is set to save £1,000 ($1.200) in energy and waste management costs for every day it operates.

Gatwick currently treats 2,200 tonnes of the waste each year, around 20% of the total generated at the airport. The new energy plant will process around 10 tonnes per day of the Category 1 material. Prior to the opening of the WTE plant all that material was processed offsite.

In opening the new facility, Gatwick says the objective is to boost the airport’s recycling rate from its present level of 49 percent to around 85 percent by 2020. If that figure is reached it will be the highest recycling rate of any U.K. airport.

The plant is capable of being expanded and has the capacity to produce additional energy that could one day be used to power other areas of the airport.

“On our journey to become one of the greenest airports in the world, our new world-beating waste plant turns a difficult waste problem into a sustainable energy source. We’re confident it sets the benchmark for others to follow in waste management,” says Stewart Wingate, Gatwick CEO.

“Our ambitious plans to develop in the most environmentally responsible way possible are driven by a set of rigorous targets. I’m delighted to say our strategy is working and, despite passenger numbers doubling, our environmental footprint is better today than it was in the early 1990s,” Wingate adds.

Martin Willmor, senior vice president, Specialist Services, UK, DHL Supply Chain, says, “After a decade of working closely with Gatwick, we’re excited to still be finding innovative ways to improve operations across the airport. Disposing of Category 1 waste can be very costly and time-consuming, but our new waste management and recycling system is a huge step forward.

“Gatwick is leading the way in converting waste onsite into an energy source and we’re already investigating a number of further initiatives to support sustainable energy production and the future expansion of the airport.”