An assessment of waste management efficiency at BAA airports

Pitt, Michael; Smith, Andrew

Abstract

The issue of waste management within airports is becoming increasingly important with enormous increases in passenger numbers and is a key responsibility of the facilities manager. Airports are notoriously poor environmental performers and this growth in the industry is leading to increasing levels of waste production. The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of waste management operations at BAA airports, with reference to best practices within airports in continental Europe. The paper presents the findings of a survey of waste management methods in a sample of UK airports. The analysis of numerical data is based on those airports in the BAA group. Many of these are among the busiest airports in Britain, and Heathrow and Gatwick are two of the world's busiest. Data constraints prevented a more detailed analysis of other airports outside BAA. The paper highlights some difficulties in measuring BAA's waste management efficiency based on the waste hierarchy and concludes that some European airports have achieved greater efficiency in waste management. The situation is now changing though and BAA is taking environmental management seriously. However, a more coordinated approach to environmental strategy is needed across the industry and this is best produced at govemment level.

Citation

Pitt, M., & Smith, A. (2003). An assessment of waste management efficiency at BAA airports. Construction Management and Economics, 21(4), 421-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144619032000089599

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 20, 2003
• Publication Date: 2003-06
• Deposit Date: Mar 30, 2021
• Journal: Construction Management and Economics
• Print ISSN: 0144-6193
• Electronic ISSN: 1466-433X
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 421-431
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0144619032000089599
• Keywords: Airports, Facilities Management, Environment, Recycling, Waste
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2756893