The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has launched a waste segregation and recycling programme at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
FAAN Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, announced the initiative on Wednesday, describing it as part of the authority’s circular economy and carbon reduction goals.
Kuku said the first phase involves introducing indoor colour-coded waste recycling bins across the airport terminals.
“It is my distinct pleasure to unveil the first phase of our comprehensive Circular Economy Programme: Indoor Colour-Coded Waste Recycling Bins,” she said.
She said the initiative would end indiscriminate waste disposal at the airport, where waste had previously been sent directly to landfills without sorting or recycling.
Kuku disclosed that MMIA generated 1,446 tonnes of waste in 2023 and 1,383 tonnes in 2024. She described the previous practice of disposing of all waste in landfills as a significant economic and environmental opportunity lost. “That chapter closes today,” Kuku declared.
According to her, the programme would be implemented in three phases, beginning with source separation within the airport terminals. Passengers, concessionaires, airlines, and airport workers would separate waste at the point of generation.
Kuku said the second phase would involve deploying large outdoor colour-coded recycling bins across the airport as central collection points. The third phase, she added, would involve certified recycling companies collecting plastics, glass, metal cans, and organic materials.
She disclosed that FAAN had begun discussions on a waste-to-power initiative to convert airport waste into energy. The move, she said, would help offset the significant electricity demands of airport operations while promoting environmental and financial sustainability.
Kuku said adopting the global waste management hierarchy of reuse, recovery, and recycling would reduce costs and improve resource efficiency.
She linked the programme to the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme of the Airports Council International (ACI), saying it would accelerate FAAN’s progress towards achieving international net-zero carbon targets.
“We are not just talking about sustainability; we are engineering it into our operations,” she said.
Kuku added that similar recycling initiatives would be launched at other international airports across Nigeria in the coming days. She urged passengers, concessionaires, airlines, and other airport users to embrace the recycling system and support a cleaner aviation industry.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, applauded FAAN for aligning its operations with global environmental best practices.
“What we are launching here today is actually a trend all over the world,” Keyamo said. He noted that the global aviation industry was moving towards cleaner airports and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Keyamo said the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and ACI had made cleaner and greener airports central to their programmes. He disclosed that he had directed contractors handling a new airport project to incorporate solar power into the facility’s design.
“At the point of design, I gave that directive that the roof of that new airport must handle solar panels,” he said.
He added that the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to promoting green energy.
Chairman of the FAAN Board of Directors, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, expressed support for the recycling programme. He said recycled waste could be converted into useful by-products, including electricity, and assured that the FAAN board would provide the necessary support and guidance for effective waste management.
