Reduce Municipal Solid Waste
Waste stream management is the practice of reducing product waste through strategic planning and purchasing ; capturing and managing reusable and recyclable materials ; and promoting business and behavioral adaptations through directives , contracts , choice , education , and collection systems . Our goals are to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste ( MSW ) that we generate ; increase our rate of recycling ; continue to support the generation of electricity through WtE ; and minimize what we send to area landfills . In addition to MSW , we also have numerous successful ongoing waste-related activities in the areas of construction waste disposal , glycol recovery and stormwater runoff management , which we will continue to improve upon going forward .
Baseline
With approximately 50 million people traveling through our airports each year , in addition to the hundreds of people that work at each location , a significant amount of MSW is generated and disposed of at our facilities . Disposing of MSW is costly and recycling is even more expensive . In fact , our cost per ton to recycle now exceeds the cost of disposing of MSW by 27 – 40 % ( approximately $ 20 / ton ). This is a dramatic turnaround from a few years ago when we received a credit for our recyclable materials which reduced our annual waste hauling costs .
As indicated in Table 6 , in 2019 , we disposed of nearly 10,000 tons of MSW produced at Dulles International and another 6,115 tons from Reagan National . The cost to store , remove , and dispose of this MSW exceeds one million dollars per year . Much of this cost is passed on to or borne by our concessionaires and other airport partners , resulting in potentially higher costs for our customers . As a result , we are determined to reduce the waste that we generate to both reduce costs and minimize our impact on the natural environment .
Location
MSW Generated ( tons )
Amount Recycled - Comingled ( tons )
Table 6 : Authority Municipal Solid Waste Statistics 2019
Recycled Rate
Contamination Rate
Recycled rate postcontamination
Waste to Energy Conversion
Percent of MSW landfilled
Cost per ton ( MSW )
Cost per ton ( recycled )
IAD |
9893 |
575 |
6 % |
35 % |
4 % |
77 % |
19 % |
$ 60 |
$ 85 |
DCA |
6115 |
908 |
15 % |
10 % |
13 % |
70 % |
17 % |
$ 63 |
$ 80 |
DTR |
Data pending |
$ 85 |
Notes : Dulles International has one waste hauler for its MSW and recycling . Reagan National has two waste haulers who both provide MSW and |
recycling services . Authority MSW is incinerated in a WtE facility in Fairfax , VA . According to the EPA , this results in a reduction of 80 % in weight |
sent to the landfill . Contamination rates were estimated at 30-40 % of total recyclables for Dulles . A 10 % contamination rate was reported by |
Reagan National ' s waste hauler . Comingled recyclables include paper , cans , glass and plastic . Figures in the table do not include universal , hazardous , or construction-related waste . |
One way to reduce the amount of our MSW is by recycling . We operate a comingled recycling system at our airports and corporate offices which means we collect paper , cans , glass , 34 and plastic in single bins and send it all to recycling centers . The amount of recyclable materials that we removed from our MSW stream and diverted to recycling in 2019 was approximately 15 % for Reagan National and 6 % for Dulles International . When we include what is known as universal waste ( i . e ., lamps , batteries , etc .) and
34 While glass is taken to a recycling facility , rather than recycled , it is currently crushed and mixed with dirt for use in capping freshly landfilled MSW .
32