Austin Airport Celebrates Joint Effort With Recycling Firm's Landfill Waste Reductions

AUSTIN, TX -- Texas Disposal Systems, company specializing in the reuse of materials, celebrated its first-year partnering with the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. And by all accounts, it's been a fruitful partnership.

TDS is a leading resource management company that helps customers manage and divert waste to beneficial uses, airport officials explained in a news advisory. Since arriving at the airport, diversion rates on waste have more than doubled with the amount of materials being sent to the landfill reduced by 13 percent as compared to the previous provider's tally in its final year of operation.

TDS began trash and recycling operations at ABIA in October 2015 in an effort to improve diversion rates that had jumped significantly in the first month of service, airport officials said. Those rates have continued to increase over the past year.

The company services the entire airport with five full-time employees working onsite. The terminal recycling program collects an average of 52 tons of recyclable material every month, which translates to 15,600 cubic yards over the course of a year, officials said.

“Together, TDS and ABIA are committed to diverting waste from the landfill to beneficial uses
whenever possible,” Jen Sembera, Recycling and Composting Coordinator at TDS, said in a prepared stateement. “We are excited to continue our partnership with ABIA and help them work toward growing their
diversion rates even more and further reducing the impact to our environment.”

In order to enhance diversion efforts, ABIA significantly increased the number of terminal recycling containers. The airport’s blue bag program ensures that recyclables make it to the correct

TDS collection container, officials noted.

ABIA officials said they also attribute the increased diversion rate to a high level of customer service and improved employee education. TDS has trained all ABIA custodial staff regarding proper recycling and disposal techniques, and will soon expand training to include airline, restaurant and retail employees. The company also introduced new signage in areas such as employee break rooms and luggage carts on the tarmac to encourage good recycling habits, officials said.

“TDS and the airport are committed to reducing waste,” said Kane Carpenter, Environmental Services Manager at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “We look forward to working with TDS to exceed next year's waste diversion goals.”

TDS next plans to begin composting services at ABIA, according to company officials. All food and beverage vendors will be trained by TDS and ABIA staff and have behind-the-scenes composting stations for
compostable waste, officials aadded.

TDS describes itself as one of the largest independently owned solid waste collection, processing and disposal companies in the nation. To learn more about the company, visit www.texasdisposal.com.

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