Dive Brief:
- A recycling and composting program at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC is faltering. The company contracted to operate the program, Cornell-based Go Green, Reduce Reuse Resell, has failed to meet expectations and dissolved.
- Since it began in 2012, the project at the Airport Recycling Center has hit several delays, exceeded anticipated costs and experienced equipment issues. Following the dissolution of Go Green, airport management has been tasked with keeping the project operational.
- The airport started the recycling and compost project after it assessed it could save money on landscaping by using compost it produced on the airport grounds. The airport also anticipated reducing dispel fees through recycling and generating profits through the sale of materials it recycled on site.
Dive Insight:
The initial contract covered operations a three-year time period. The recycling center was constructed in 2011 and opened in June of 2012. Among other issues, the contract for the recycling center wasn’t obtained through a competitive bid process. In addition, the state issued a permit to use worm waste as a fertilizer, but it wasn’t granted until many months later. The airport is issuing a request for proposals from outside companies and expects to award the contract to a new company in early September 2014.