Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) has launched a new program aimed at decreasing landfill waste and aiding in the recycling of beverage containers.
The Pour It Out campaign, launching today, adds a Pour It Out receptacle at Checkpoint 1. Passengers can dump liquids from a bottle or container into the receptacle before putting the bottles in a neighboring recycling bin. Empty bottles are necessary for the recycling process; liquid are considered contamination, ruining recyclable materials. Bottles containing liquids are required to be sent to the landfill.
“Through the implementation of liquid collection stations we can divert this material from the landfill, send the bottles to the recycling stream and thereby increase our overall diversion rate by 2 percent,” says B.J. Carpenter, sustainability program coordinator at AUS. “Preventing liquids from entering the landfill also helps avoid the creation of harmful leachate, a key environmental problem facing all landfills.”
Carpenter estimates that 63 tons of waste can be diverted from the landfill in one year. Other benefits of the program include reducing the weight of waste containers, decreasing heavy-lifting injuries of service employees, saving time sorting through waste and increasing diversion rates.
The receptacle at Checkpoint 1 is part of a pilot program, with more receptacles potentially being installed in the future.
