Making every day Earth Day at SDIA

The Big Belly solar-powered trash compactor ... curbside in front of Terminal One at San Diego International Airport.

It’s April again and you know what that means….Earth Month!  It’s time to celebrate what we do here at the airport to be environmentally friendly – and to give some thought to what else we can do.

And guess what?  For the seventh time in the last eight years, the Airport Authority has been awarded a Recycler of the Year award from the City of San Diego.  Here are some of the things we’re doing that helped us earn the award for the fourth year in a row:

• In 2009, the Airport Authority acquired the Big Belly Solar-Powered Trash and Recycling Compactor that uses renewable energy to turn public spaces into clean, eco-friendly zones.

• In July of 2009, the Airport Authority partnered with HMS Host and the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department in an effort to recycle coffee grounds from airport concessions, including Starbucks and McDonald’s. The coffee grounds are transported to the City of San Diego’s Miramar Greenery.  During the first six months of the program, we recycled over 35,000 pounds of coffee grounds!

• The Quarterly E-waste Collection Events held by our Environmental Affairs Department have seen lots of success.  During 2009, approximately 15,500 pounds of e-waste was collected!

Sunday, April 18 is when San Diego celebrates the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day with Earth Fair in Balboa Park, the largest Earth Day celebration in the nation. Earth Day itself falls on Thursday, April 22.

But it’s the simple gestures, repeated every day by all of us, that make a significant impact collectively.  Together, we contribute to preserving the planet and its riches for future generations!

Many thanks to Mayra in Environmental Affairs for her help with this post and her continued commitment to the environment.