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ECOCLUB, Issue 89
5
In March 2007, high schools students from the capital city collaborated with local high school students to paint a mural on the
recycling centre. Finished composted waste will first be used in a newly built public park in the village centre. This recycling
centre is built from salvaged materials that were taken from and old building that was demolished in order to make space for the
Park. Ironically, “What comes around goes around.” Future plans for the composted fertilizer includes planting native trees and
planting grass on a local soccer field.
Andres & Michelle Hammerman, Chugchilán, Ecuador.
SPECIAL REPORT: Eco-Airports - a step towards sustainability?
by Fiona Bakas, ECOCLUB
The world’s 42,000 airports are not typically thought of as environmentally sensitive
projects. However, as environmental sensitivity is become more of a global theme
(perhaps due to the looming threats that climate change is envisioned to bring upon
us), efforts are being made to embrace sustainability even by the aviation industry
(a major culprit in contributing to ozone layer degradation with 3.5%* of human-
induced global warming emissions worldwide – expected to rise to 15% by
2050). Although the world’s 41,096 airports, create jobs and bring in money to
local and national economies, airports also create noise, pollution and transport
problems as well as the encroaching on fertile land. As such, proposals for new
airports or to expand existing ones, invariably generate massive public controversy, and
require the balancing of economic against environmental concerns.
Opponents of the aviation industry argue that fleets should actually be reduced instead of creating new
‘homes’
for them. However, in reality the world’s ever-growing and increasingly mobile population is creating the demand for more
airports. International air passenger traffic grew by 5.9 % in 2006 according to IATA, where as in the US, it is estimated that by
2013 demands on US airspace will increase by 30%. It is predicted that growth in air passenger traffic will be the highest in
West Asia (10.7% per annum) with a total of 37 additional airports being created in Western China alone.
The concept of eco-airports was first raised in the 1995 Asia Pacific Aviation Conference, however no blueprint for an eco-
airport currently exists (the closest is a document containing guidelines to the features of a Green Airport) and statistical data for
the number of eco-airports worldwide has not yet been collected.
In an attempt to approach a possible definition of an eco-airport we will look at Zhuhai Airport (China), Narita Airport (Japan)
and Eleftherios Venizelos Airport (Greece).
Zhuhai Airport, China
Zhuhai airport, in southern China, close to Macao, is the first to be purposely built with "vehicle-free ramps." Instead of aircrafts
being serviced by a fleet of vehicles and an army of often accident-prone drivers, a set of modules "pop up" from the tarmac and
supply fuel, water, air, ground power, toilet waste disposal, and cabin heating or air conditioning to the parked aircraft. “If this
type of ramp was adopted, total carbon emissions could be cut by a quarter..” noted the Swedish firm, FMT, that built the high-
tech, fully-automated ramps.
Narita Airport, Tokyo (http://www.naa.jp/en/environment/index.html)
Terminal 1 of Narita Airport was reconstructed as a model of environmental sustainability in the airport industry, perhaps
learning from past experience when back in the 60’s environmental activists fought against the building of Tokyo’s mighty
airport.
From re-using building materials, zoning air-condition and community initiatives, to producing compost from the airport’s
restaurants’ leftovers, Narita airport has all the makings of an eco-airport.
Energy-saving techniques
Energy saving measures include the zoning of air conditioning to only the lower sections of high ceiling rooms and coordinating
air-conditioning functions with flight schedules. Lights are also coordinated with flight schedules and areas with access to
sunlight, are fitted with daylight sensors to ensure that electricity consumption is kept to a minimum. Further energy savings
were made with a switch control system to switch the signage system off after operating hours, resulting in a daily saving of
800kWh.
Re-using water
Regarding water conservation, kitchen wastewater is re-used to flush toilets where as automatic taps and water conserving
washbasins are installed to reduce water consumption.
Re-using construction materials