Towards zero-waste airports: a case study of Istanbul Airport

In this day and age, an important indicator of sustainable waste management is zero-waste index. Zero-waste approach is adopted by many organizations in different sectors. In this context, implementation of sustainable waste management at airports, which have become the most vibrant centers of the transportation sector in the globalizing world, is one of the important environmental issues. In this study, the activities carried out in the Istanbul airport in 2019–2020 within the scope of sustainable waste management were evaluated within the framework of zero-waste approach. For this purpose, waste characterizations for different zones in the airport have been presented. When the methods used in the disposal of the wastes were examined, it was seen that recycling (43–49%) and landfilling (50–57%) took the first place. The results of the study reveal that the pandemic restrictions implemented in 2020 have caused significant differences in the amount and composition of waste generated. The highest decrease in waste generation occurred in Zone A where terminal activities are located, with 76%. This change was also reflected in the zero-waste index determined depending on the waste management strategies applied, and the values calculated for 2019 and 2020 were found to be 0.35 and 0.26, respectively. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10163-021-01308-2.