Massport Celebrates Earth Day with Recycling, Wildflowers and Green Asphalt

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today celebrated Earth Day with children from the East Boston YMCA. Sixteen children, ranging in ages from nine to 11, greeted arriving passengers at Boston Logan with postcards that when planted grow wildflowers.

Massport also announced a recycling partnership with Delta Air Lines. Delta currently participates in the airport’s in-terminal recycling program and will now add Logan to its roster of airports for in-flight recycling, that includes recycling paper, plastic and aluminum on all of its flights that land at Boston Logan. Delta will take advantage of the airport’s single-stream recycling dumpsters that take all recyclable paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, and glass. US Airways is also recycling paper on flights that terminate at Logan.

“We’re happy that Delta has chosen Boston Logan as a partner in their in-flight recycling program,” said Massport’s Director of Aviation Edward C. Freni. “Delta estimates it will reduce its waste at Logan by as much as 30 percent and that’s good for the airport, our passengers and our environment.” Delta passengers flying through Logan’s Terminal A enjoy the distinction of using one of the most energy and resource efficient terminals in the country. Terminal A is the world’s first airport terminal to be LEED certified by the Green Building Council.

The day’s celebration was part of a larger public awareness campaign intended to inform passengers that “green travel can be as simple as choosing the right airport – Boston Logan.” The campaign asks, “did you know?” followed by a series of environmental achievements including the airport’s preferred parking program for hybrid vehicles, design of the first-in-the-world airport terminal to garner LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the US Green Building Council, and that 30 percent of passengers and employees arrive at Logan by subway, boat, or bus, giving Logan one of the highest public transit use rankings by any airport in the country.

Logan’s efforts to promote recycling have received a “warm” reception on the airfield where approximately 18 percent of the new so-called “warm mix’’ asphalt is made from recycled content. Boston Logan is the first airport in the nation to use the more environmentally friendly pavement. Last fall, Massport spent $6.3 million to repave the outer 37.5 feet on each edge of the 150 foot wide Runway 4R/22L with “warm mix’’ asphalt which is heated to between 250 and 275 degrees, some 75 to 50 degrees less than traditional “hot mix” asphalt. This resulted in the reduction of nearly 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the savings of about 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and produced an energy savings of about 26.4 billion BTUs. Massport plans to use “warm-mix” asphalt to pave Runway 9/27 later in 2009 and will continue to use this innovative pavement for future projects as appropriate.

Massport is also planning to issue an RFP later this year to purchase renewable energy credits so that by the end of calendar year 2009, all of the electricity the Authority uses for its own operations will be offset through the purchase of those credits. This will allow the operations of the Authority to be carbon neutral. Massport is also participating in MIT's Sloan School of Management's S-Lab, pairing with a group of MBA students to investigate how best to incentivize airport tenants and users to participate in Massport’s sustainability goals.

At the Boston Fish Pier, Massport has received a $400,000 grant from the EPA to install electrical power stations allowing fishing boats and visiting vessels to “plug in” for electricity instead of running their diesel generators while tied up. The project, to be completed later this year, will result in significant environmental and public health benefits because it is expected to produce an estimated 95 percent reduction in engine idling and air pollution.

Massport is the 2008 winner of Gov. Deval Patrick’s Leading by Example Award and the 2008 Environmental Management Award presented by the Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) for its Emissions Reduction Program. Emissions reduction is one of the most prominent environmental, operational and community issues currently facing the aviation industry. For airports in particular, addressing air quality is a challenge since the largest sources of emissions are typically aircraft engines and vehicles over which airports have little or no control. Logan’s Emission Reduction Program encompasses a wide range of efforts that have significantly improved air quality in and around the airport, the nation’s 19th busiest. These include: alternative ground access transportation options; use of alternative fuel vehicles; energy optimization and conservation; and building design measures.

Boston Logan, 15 minutes from Routes 128/90 and 5 minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 31 international destinations and in 2008 handled 26.1 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, more than $4.4 billion has been spent building new terminals, parking facilities – including a cell phone lot, roadways, airfield improvements and airport concessions, all of which has transformed the airport into a world-class 21st Century facility and the airport of choice for all of New England.

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