Recycling

waste sorting and effects

Isavia places great importance on waste sorting and has, over the past few years, used Grænu skrefin (Green Steps) organised by the Environment Agency of Iceland for the adoption of the company’s waste sorting. At the beginning of 2021, all the employees of Isavia ohf. took part in environmental training which discussed waste categories in detail and the importance of circular thinking. Unsorted waste from Isavia ohf. and its subsidiaries is sent either for incineration in Kalka or to a local landfill site. The greatest environmental effect of waste treatment from the operations of Isavia is through the disposal of unsorted waste. The treatment of sorted waste carries a low carbon footprint.

Recycling proportion and volume of waste

The total volume of waste from Isavia decreased significantly in 2020 as compared to the year before. This can be traced directly to the drop in operations and the decrease in the number of passengers. Approximately 344 tonnes of waste were sent for incineration or to landfills during the year. Isavia’s recycling percentage for the year was 41%, while the target set by Isavia was 40% by year-end 2020. Efforts have been initiated to increase this percentage even further and to reduce the formation of waste in the operation. A large volume of disposable gloves and face masks, which may not be recycled, were used during the year. These, therefore, were all disposed of as general waste. In addition, the transfer of the office operations of Isavia ohf. from the tower at Reykjavík Airport due to mould also had a considerable impact on the volume of waste last year. All paper, together with other items that were deemed to be uncleanable, was thrown away or sent for recycling as appropriate. Nevertheless, the company was able to maintain the recycling ratio unchanged from 2019.

In recent years, Isavia has adopted a variety of actions to achieve its objective to minimise waste generated by the operation and to increase the proportion sent for recycling

Percentage of recycled waste per passenger GRI 306-2

Year	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
Sorted per passenger	0,027 kg	14 %	0,040 kg	20 %	0,045 kg	27 %	0,075 kg	41%	0,140 kg	41%
Unsorted per passenger	0,160 kg	86 %	0,160 kg	80 %	0,123 kg	73 %	0,107 kg	59%	0,202 kg	59%
Total per passenger	0,187 kg	100 %	0,200 kg	100 %	0,168 kg	100 %	0,182 kg	100 %	0,342 kg	100 %

waste flow chart for recyclingraumum — Streams of waste in Isavia's operations and carbon emissions of each category

Actions relating to recycling issues

In recent years, Isavia has adopted a variety of actions to achieve its objective to minimise waste generated by the operation and to increase the proportion sent for recycling. This includes the collection of organic waste. A project intended to draw the attention of employees and others to food waste was initiated through educational material on the company’s intranet, messages on refrigerators and coffee-break rooms. In addition, the specialists in the Environmental Department also worked closely with the operators of the airport’s employee cafeteria in an effort to decrease food waste, carrying out weighing checks and notifying employees of its results through an information screen in the cafeteria facilities. Operations in 2020 were severely curtailed, and the employee cafeteria at Keflavík Airport was closed.

In recent years, during the spring, Isavia, in collaboration with Terra, has offered employees and other interested parties the option of obtaining compost.

Iceland Radio in Gufunes continued its environmental efforts as before. The focus is on waste sorting, and a large proportion of food leftovers that accrue are used to feed the hens that became a part of the operation a few years ago.

Keflavík Airport’s warehouse at Grænás receives furnishings and useable building materials from the renovations in Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal and other airport buildings. Furnishings are reused if spare parts are needed or sent to other locations around the country. Part of the Green Steps initiative currently being adopted by Isavia is awareness of the possibilities of reusing furnishings and other material within the company.

Our people

- The hens lighten the mood

Hallgrímur Sigurðsson

Manager of Iceland radio

How did it come about that you started keeping hens at the workplace?
We had been trying to think of something to lighten up the workplace. When we decided to focus more on environmental issues and make use

of the Green Steps that The Environmental Agency of Iceland manages, we began brainstorming on how we could decrease our carbon footprint generated from the disposal of organic waste. This is when the idea of the hens came up. We decided to try keeping hens and providing them with organic waste to eat.

How is taking care of the hens going and what do you have to be mindful about or beware of?
Taking care of the hens is going well, although 3-4 employees who enjoy it are taking on most of the work. There isn’t much to beware of, however the hens always need to have enough water to drink. They are also picky eaters so we have been informing employees on what they like to eat, so they are not feeding them something that later must be cleaned up.

What happens to all the eggs they lay, and do you recommend keeping hens to minimize organic waste?
The eggs from the hens are delicious, as they are settlement hens. Employees can have eggs if they need, and it is very popular amongst them to have an omelette during night shifts for example. We really recommend keeping hens if you can, to reduce organic waste. Although you must realize that it requires work, but many find it entertaining. It also generates interest and conversations among employees. The hens promote positive conversations and often lighten the atmosphere at the workplace.