DFW AIRPORT, Texas – Nov. 9, 2020 – The DFW Airport Board approved a plan during its November meeting to reduce the Airport’s organic food waste by repurposing it for the betterment of the North Texas community.
The Board approved a three-year contract with Turn Compost, LLC of Dallas not to exceed $1,199,480, with options to renew for two additional one-year periods. Under the contract, the Airport’s organic food waste will be collected and sorted from the terminals and catering kitchens. Then, it will be delivered to organic farms, gardens and commercial compost facilities in North Texas for their use. The plan will also provide monthly data reporting of these waste diversion efforts.
Currently, about 20-to-30 percent of organic food waste from both Airport catering kitchens and terminal concessionaires ends up in the trash. Under the new program, on site educational programs will help stakeholders better manage organic food waste by learning how to sort and collect their food waste so it can be redirected to North Texas farms and compost facilities seamlessly.
The Airport expects to reduce up to 25-percent of its waste from the terminals within three years through this innovative organic food waste diversion program. And, in so doing, the Airport is lessening its impact on local landfills, which are fast reaching capacity. It’s also saving the Airport the cost of hauling the waste, a cost that’s only increasing as new landfills are being located even farther from the Airport.
“Already a proven leader in global sustainability, DFW Airport is now committed to becoming a Zero Waste campus. This initiative to redirect up to 25 percent of the Airport’s organic food waste found in the airline catering kitchens and terminals to local farms and compost centers instead of local landfills moves DFW Airport one step closer toward that goal. It also demonstrates the Airport’s voluntary commitment to regional waste reduction,” said Robert Horton, DFW Airport Vice President of Environmental Affairs.
The initial program rollout will identify two concessions partners to create a successful blueprint for a sustainable program.