Green Issues & Initiatives

[Aviador]

Climate expert snubs Heathrow protesters

Campaigners are told coal power is the priority danger, not more runwaysRobin McKie, science editor The Observer, Sunday 1 February 2009 Heathrow protestors' hopes of attracting the support of leading climate scientists in their bid to block the airport's proposed third runway have suffered a major setback. Jim Hansen, director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, has told anti-aviation campaigners that their protests will not help the battle against global warming and do not deserve support.

The news is a serious blow for those opposed to airport expansion. Hansen is one of the world's mostly highly regarded climate scientists and has played a key role in other environmental protests. Last year, he helped defend six campaigners charged with criminal damage after occupying the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent. He told the court that their protest was justifiable because the 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted daily by the plant could lead to the extinction of 400 species. The accused were acquitted.

Now eco-campaigners are planning to follow that protest with one aimed at preventing Heathrow's third runway being built. However, Hansen has told them that there is no comparison with the dangers posed by coal power. "I don't think it is helpful to be trying to prevent air flight," Hansen told the Observer. He said he would make no move to help protesters arrested during occupations or disruptions at Heathrow.

Hansen is a world-renowned expert on global temperature fluctuations, and the victim of several unsuccessful attempts by George Bush's administration to silence his warnings about climate change. The climatologist believes the world has only a few years to halt the rise of carbon emissions and has warned America's new president, Barack Obama, that he must act decisively on climate change during his first term or put the planet at risk. Major cuts in carbon emissions must be made worldwide.

However, Hansen said cutbacks in new runways would be ineffective. "The number of runways you need for your airports depends on their traffic. You don't want to be so restrictive that you end up burning more fuel because planes are having to circle and wait to land because of lack of runway space."

Heathrow's expansion is expected to lead to increased noise and pollution, the demolition of 700 homes and major road congestion in the region, and one of the largest coalitions assembled against a building project has been set up to block it. This includes 20 local authorities, six unions and nearly all mainstream environment groups. Activists have said they are prepared to be arrested.

John Sauven, director of Greenpeace UK, said the site would become "the battlefield of our generation".

But Hansen insisted that such efforts were misplaced. "Coal is 80% of the planet's problem," he said. "You have to keep your eye on the ball and not waste your efforts. The number one enemy is coal and we should never forget that." Aviation was not a danger, and he would not fly to the help of those who disrupted airports and flights, he stressed.

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[Aviador]

Heathrow plans to recycle, reuse and rid the airport of single-use coffee cups

• Successful trial of reusable cup system and ban on single-use coffee cups at Heathrow’s head office set to influence initiatives airport wide
• Heathrow pledges to enable the recycling of all coffee cups collected from its retail and lounge business partners by the end of 2018, helping to significantly boost the one in 400 cups estimated to be recycled in the UK today
• The first stage of this programme will see all retailers use a standardised paper cup that can be collected by Heathrow and recycled in the UK
• The second stage will explore how a reuse system could be implemented across all terminals to help phase out single-use cups, helping to save over 13.5 million coffee cups a year
• Building on its commitment to sustainability, Heathrow and its partner retailers will encourage and incentivise passengers to bring personal reusable cups and work towards removing all single-use plastics from sale, such as bottles, straws and stirrers

Heathrow has announced it will significantly reduce and recycle all single-use coffee cups collected from over 20 retail and lounge business partners at the airport, as part of a longer-term vision to phase out single-use plastics.

The announcement follows a successful trial at Heathrow’s head office this Spring, where the obligatory introduction of a reusable coffee cup system will mean more than a quarter of a million single-use cups will no longer be used by the company.

The UK uses 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups a year, yet it is estimated that only 0.25% are recycled. 78 million passengers currently pass through the airport annually, using over 13.5 million disposable coffee cups. These coffee cups represent an estimated 0.5% of all used in the UK. Recycling this amount could see the number of recycled cups in the UK increase by 200%. With passenger numbers continuing to rise, the need to tackle harmful single-use plastic across terminals cannot be ignored.

The airport has set a target to standardise and recycle all single-use coffee cups by the end of 2018 and continue efforts to completely rid staff areas of these cups. Dedicated coffee cup collection points will be rolled out across all terminals in coming weeks.

Heathrow’s Chief Executive, John Holland-Kaye said:

“As a small city, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and using all our influence to ensure individual companies working within our boundaries do so as well. This announcement takes us one step further, ensuring all single-use coffee cups at the airport are able to be recycled with additional support from Heathrow.

"For businesses, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – join us in banning single-use coffee cups in your office today so that we can make a difference to tomorrow.”

The Sustainable Restaurant Association Founder and Director Simon Heppner, said:

“Our work with Heathrow and its food and beverage partners over the last few years has helped lay the foundations for a more collaborative approach to tackling the sustainability challenges we face. Today’s commitment to reduce and recycle single-use coffee cups builds on this collaboration and is a welcome interim step forward. We look forward to continuing to work with the airport and its partners to achieve this and to ensure focus is maintained on the bigger goals - not only today’s more ambitious commitment to phase out single-use cups entirely but also to take a critical look at all disposable products.”

At present, retailers offer varying types of coffee cups at the airport, making it more difficult to sort and reprocess than other materials. Heathrow is working with its retail partners to simplify the switch to a single recyclable cup which will be collected by the airport’s waste supplier, Grundon. Batches of recyclable cups will then be transferred in consolidated loads to national waste collectors, for recycling.

Heathrow is also looking at other ways to reduce consumption of single-use plastic products, such as bottles, stirrers and straws, as well as working with its retail partners to ensure reusable crockery is available for all sit-in restaurant customers.

With a vision to significantly reduce and remove single-use plastics, Heathrow is working closely with its retail partners to design, test and implement new systems to reduce waste, whilst still ensuring customers have a safe and enjoyable journey.

As a busy transport, retail and leisure hub, Heathrow is in a unique position to bring together multiple major companies to create a sustainable network that goes beyond the airport boundary.