voiceofsandiego.org: Cafesandiego... America’s Greenest City?

As a major contributor to the regional economy -- and the agency responsible for addressing the San Diego region’s air transportation needs -- the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is committed to ensuring that San Diego International Airport is a responsible environmental leader in the community. The Airport Authority is a founding member of the San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership and works with other environmental leaders in the region to support, plan and carry out important environmental initiatives. At San Diego International Airport itself, the Airport Authority oversees a number of initiatives related to reducing the airport’s impact on the environment.

High on the Airport Authority’s priority list is a strong commitment to recycling. The Airport Authority has been presented with the city of San Diego’s Recycler of the Year award in recognition of its single-stream recycling program and its outreach efforts to educate airport concessionaires, tenants and staff about recycling. The airport's Recycling Guide was developed to describe and promote the single-stream recycling program. It is a bilingual English-Spanish brochure with useful information about what can and cannot go in recycling containers at the airport.

Recycling is on center stage this year with the recent passage of the city of San Diego’s new recycling ordinance. Companies and residences large and small need to be aware of the ordinance’s new requirements, designed to help America’s Finest City one day become America’s Greenest City. The Airport Authority is proud to be joining with the city of San Diego, on behalf of the San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership, to present Coming Clean, Going Green! - A Waste Reduction & Recycling Workshop to be held January 29, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The purpose of this workshop is to help businesses and organizations in their resource management by showing them how to develop and implement waste reduction plans and programs. Small to large companies and venues will be presenting various waste reduction programs, as well as tips on what worked or didn’t work for them. At the workshop, businesses can also find out how the city’s recycling ordinance affects them and how best to comply, as well tips on how to “save some green!”

Who should attend? Any size business or organization interested in reducing their carbon footprint! Local government agencies, non-profits and recycling and waste companies are also encouraged to attend.

For more information, download the Coming Clean, Going Green flyer or register online here.

The Airport Authority looks forward to continuing its work with environmental leaders in the community to help make our region cleaner, greener . . . and a better home for future generations.

I am always hopeful, but many employees at the company I work for throw pretty much everything away rather than setting cans, bottles, etc., aside to go in recycling. Recycling is conveniently located next to the lunch room, but as one guy told me, "It's trash. Why bother with it? It's all trash."

Posted by Janet | reply to this comment
January 15, 2008 9:28 pm

None of the initiatives to reduce the airport's impact on the environment address the airport's biggest environmental impact: greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. If we're truly serious about being America's Greenest City, then greatly reduced air travel has to be part of our future. Flying anywhere near as much as we do now is not sustainable (or green)--that is to say that sooner or later the greenhouse emissions will wreck the climate we depend on and we will exhaust the cheap jet fuel on which airplanes are totally dependent. We should be downsizing airport traffic and investing in electrified high speed train systems--much more sustainable than flying.

Posted by GreenMachine | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 8:40 am

Is the Authority seriously considering moving the terminal to Pacific Highway to support the development of a new multi-modal transportation center? That would help reduce air pollution from too many cars stacked up in front of the existing terminals everyday. It might also allow putting Harbor Drive underneath a new deck runway on the south side of the existing airport. That would make Lindbergh a two runway airport and serve the region for many more years.

Posted by Watcher | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 9:00 am

When San Diego goes solar, harnessing the sun energy we get 300 days per year; returns its port to a working shipping destination again, which will shave time off transport of goods to all parts of the US when coupled with a better railroad system; mandates intelligent neighborhood design and construction techniques; addresses public transit intelligently (for once) and overrides carpetbagging developers to restore agriculture to this area to grow organic foods, San Diego can make some noise about being "green" irrespective of the airport's trash policy. Til then, you and VOSD are blowing smoke. Get real.

Posted by JR | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 9:20 am

Anyone notice the environmental education messages throughout the airport and outside at kiosks? Why don't the Board of Supervisors or the San Diego City Council see protection of the environment as a "given," like the Airport Authority does? Take the politics out of environmentalism; it's just the right thing to do.

Posted by 2 cent Jack | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 9:39 am

Why not improve public transit? It would take me at least two transfers and cost me at least one hour and $6.75 to go from the corner of Oregon and Adams to the corner of Washington and India. That's ridiculous. No wonder everyone here drives.

Posted by Poppa | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 11:10 am

What a terribly misleading headline. That said, every business and agency in San Diego County should BE recycling, ENCOURAGE recycling and REQUIRE recycling. Who wants a dump on San Luis Rey River and over the major water supply aqueducts for San Diego County? People who don't recycle, that's for sure.

Posted by Coast Watcher | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 11:39 am

San Diego Airport is lucky to have such an excellent environmental director. Wish we had him at DFW. Texas is way behind.

Posted by Cow girl | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 4:28 pm

GreenMachine argues aviations impact on global warming. Its a nice big target and globally abused, but aviation, for all its alleged harm only accounts for a net 3% of greenhouse gas emissions on the entire planet. Furthermore, the industry is pursuing a new generation of aircraft that are 50% quieter, 20% more fuel efficient and reduce harmful emissions by nearly 40% - with the first specimine, the 787, due to fly later this year. A single 787 replacing the equivalent size 767 will save 1.7 million gallons of fuel a year. There are nearly 800 on order today with demand for 2,500 of them to replace older aircraft.

Posted by Not so fast | reply to this comment
January 16, 2008 7:14 pm

Watcher, you can't build another runway on Harbor Drive. You couldn't build the existing runway Lindbergh Field has with todays safety standards.

Posted by Huh? | reply to this comment
January 17, 2008 5:32 am

America’s Greenest City?

Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 7:49 PM PST