Manchester first airport to install Recycle Zones

Manchester is the first airport to be included in the Recycle Zone scheme after similar facilities have been installed at a range of locations from hospitals in Surrey to shopping centres and theme parks such as Thorpe Park.

The scheme, which is being developed by Coca-Cola Enterprises and the Waste & Resources Action Programme, intends to develop 80 Recycle Zone sites across the UK by 2011 to boost on-the-go recycling in public places.

The installation of 125 recycling bins in Manchester Airport's terminal and at departure gates comes after the Manchester Airports Group undertook an £80 million refurbishment of the UK's biggest airport outside London.

The Manchester Airport Group hopes the addition of the Recycle Zones will encourage the 22 million passengers that travel through the airport each year to recycle their plastic bottles and paper.

Sue Hodnett, environmental advisor at Manchester Airports, said: “We're extremely excited to launch Recycle Zones at Manchester Airport. We have always been enormously proactive in promoting the recycling of materials throughout the airport and we are sure that as the first airport to adopt this initiative, it will be a successful collaboration.”

“The scheme helps us to take advantage of the passengers' heightened cultural awareness of recycling and we are confident they will be making full use of these facilities,” she added.

Erika Coghlan, vice-president of Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: “We are excited about launching the first airport Recycle Zone at Manchester. The innovative way which the airport has chosen to adopt the scheme will help travellers to recycle during their journey and to understand how that counts as one way to help protect the environment.”

“People have increased their recycling at home and at work, but it's less convenient to recycle when you're ‘on the go'. Recycle Zones make it easy for people to choose to recycle exactly when they need to – just when they've finished their drink,” she added.

In partnership with recycling charity, Recoup, Recycle Zone offers up to 10 days technical consultancy to each participating location to enable them to adopt best practice for collection and recycling for drinks bottles and paper waste.

Installation of the Recycle Zones at Manchester Airport comes just one week after the London Assembly urged the Mayor of London to make more on-the-go recycling facilities available in the capital (see letsrecycle.com story).