Waste Reduction

Environmental sustainability takes many forms and when millions of people visit your facility a year, learning to deal with waste is a priority but one we cannot tackle alone. Working with our tenants, airlines and regional partners, we are exploring new ways to further mitigate the volume of waste produced inside the terminal building and throughout YEG operations.

YEG is exploring opportunities to:

Improve recycling capabilities for maintenance waste streams;
Improve organics and glass recycling with airline partners;
Increase options for used grease and
Work with tenants to improve recycling programs and reduce waste

Inside the terminal building, multi-stream waste containers provide recycling options for passengers and the general public.

YEG has previously collaborated with the City of Edmonton, and with experts at the University of Alberta to assess general and organic waste in the greater Edmonton region. For this study, downtown Edmonton was selected as the centre of the study area and a 70 km radius was then extended outward, creating a circular area of nearly 15,400 km2. Three potential biomass feedstocks and their geographical locations within the study area were then determined: municipal solid waste (MSW), agricultural residue and waste from YEG terminals and ground side tenants.

YEG looks forward to continuing to work with local industry partners and government to further understand the resources and waste produced in our region, and the opportunities for future collaborative projects.

Reducing waste in construction

As a major facility, YEG has annual maintenance and construction projects that occur across our airport.

Sustainability and managing waste in these projects is a priority. Some examples include:

On asphalt rehabilitation projects, the asphalt millings are stockpiled on property to be utilized by our maintenance team or in future projects.
On some major runway or apron work, the granular base structure incorporates asphalt millings. By using the asphalt millings, it reduces the amount of native material required to be crushed and hauled to site.
We use reclaimed storm water to compact construction bases look to reuse materials for construction whenever possible to reduce not only the need for new raw material but reduce the trucking and related emissions to haul new material to YEG.
On electrical projects, the electrical cables and other materials are salvaged to be recycled, diverting construction waste from landfills.
In some projects, concrete used will be utilizing Carbon Cure technology. Carbon Cure is one solution in the marketplace that reduces carbon in the concrete production.