Meadow in front of terminal
Meadow in front of terminal

Waste

Waste is generated not only in the more than one hundred shops, restaurants, and service providers in the terminal but also during the catering of passengers or in the workshops. Most of the waste is comparable to the waste generated in households.

Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH follows the legal requirements of the Circular Economy and Waste Management Act when handling waste. What cannot be avoided is prepared for reuse and recycled. Where this is not possible, energy is recovered or filled in. Waste that is unsuitable for such recovery must be disposed of in a harmless and proper manner.

The company has developed a system that incentivises waste avoidance. Companies located in the terminal are therefore obliged to separate their waste as is customary in households and to place it in waste collection containers. The waste bags, which are coded by producer, are weighed, and the disposal costs are charged to the producer. Bulky waste made of paper, cardboard and wood, scrap metal, and plastics as well as hazardous waste are delivered to the disposal yard by the waste producers at defined acceptance times. This waste is also weighed and assigned to the respective polluter.

An experienced and efficient external service provider takes care of the logistics and environmentally friendly disposal of the waste at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH.

Waste attributable to the balance sheet of the airport company is generated in the passenger area, in the maintenance and repair of flight operations areas, buildings, and technical facilities, and in the offices and workshops used by the company. In accordance with the Circular Economy Act, a distinction is made between hazardous waste (e.g. sludge from oil/water separators, fluorescent lamps, or construction waste containing hazardous substances) and non-hazardous waste (e.g. municipal waste, street sweepings, or uncontaminated concrete). In part, the waste quantities are subject to strong fluctuations when comparing several reporting years. These result from dismantling work and remediation measures as well as from the disposal of waste from oil/water separators in certain cycles.

Comparatively little waste was generated in 2019. Hazardous and non-hazardous waste almost balance each other out. In contrast, the amount of waste generated in 2020 is considerably higher (231,774 t).

Waste generation at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH

2019 2020
Waste generation, total (t) 25,821 231,774
Hazardous waste (t) 12,278 22,626
Non-hazardous waste (t) 13,543 209,148
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This relatively high volume resulted from several more extensive construction measures such as construction work on the ground filter and the BER rainwater network. In addition, measures were carried out on Apron E and the expansion of Apron A. These and other construction activities alone generated approx. 195,000 t of non-hazardous waste.

In 2020, 204,095 t of waste were either recycled or reused. On the other hand, 27,679 t of waste was disposed of harmlessly.

Contact

Artur Heldt

Artur Heldt

Corporate waste management

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