Seattle Port Receives Recycling Award

The Port of Seattle has received an award for having the most innovative recycling program at its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The award was given by the Washington State Recycling Association. The airport was named Recycling Business of the Year.

With its recycling program, the Port has saved at least $100,000 in landfill costs each of the last two years, and expects those savings to grow in the years ahead.

Since 2001, Sea-Tac has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfills by 30 percent, and increased its recycling tonnage by 268 percent. As part of the program, recycling containers were placed conveniently around the airport, and distinctively marked. Travelers and airport tenants eagerly made use of the containers.

This is the second time the Port's recycling program has been recognized. In 2002, the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce gave Sea-Tac's Recycling and Energy Conservation Program its Environmental Excellence Award. That program, which includes innovative methods of reducing energy consumption (along with recycling) saves the Port an estimated $1.8 million annually.