CPH - Copenhagen Airport
A custom-designed waste solution aims to help CPH achieve sorting among travelers.
Copenhagen Airport is one of Northern Europe's largest transport hubs, with around 29 million passengers annually. The airport opened in 1925 and is Denmark's largest airport, with over 2,700 employees.
In recent years, Copenhagen Airport has seen an increase in the number of passengers, partly due to a growing desire to travel both in Denmark and globally. Many passengers mean a lot of waste and because of that, it is important to have visible and user-friendly waste solutions so that passengers can easily dispose of their waste and, most importantly, sort it correctly.
The challenge
How do you get around 2.4 million monthly travelers of different nationalities to sort their waste?
That is quite a challenge, but Copenhagen Airport is willing to take up that challenge. The many passengers with different nationalities are not familiar with Danish waste sorting. Therefore, they tested various solutions to achieve effective waste sorting and ended up choosing a Bica waste solution.
One reason for this choice was the specially designed input on the front of the bin, which proved to improve the quality of the sorting. This is because passengers spend a bit more time considering where to put the waste, ensuring more accurate sorting. Bica was also chosen because the solution accommodates the working postures of cleaning staff during emptying.
From waste to resources
The waste solution had to be user-friendly for our passengers, fit in well with the airport and function in daily operations now and in the future. That is why we chose a Bica solution.
Helle Holm Clausen, Senior Project Manager, CPH
The solution
Specially developed input for refundable bottles and cans
It was important for CPH to have a waste sorting solution that was simple for passengers to use and easy for cleaning staff to handle.
The solution became 186 waste bins placed in sets of three in their shopping center in the airport, located airside after security check. Here, waste is sorted into residual waste, plastic, and refundable bottles/cans. Food waste is not sorted here due to regulations from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. The input for refundable bottles and cans was specially designed because many passengers are not familiar with the Danish refundable system. Therefore the difference between bottles/cans and other plastic needed to be clearly highlighted.
Practical bag holder with tilt function
The waste bin was developed with a bag holder featuring a tilt function to provide the cleaning staff with the best working conditions, as the bins are emptied up to five times a day. The tilt function allows easy bag replacement without heavy lifting in awkward positions. Additionally, a significant factor was that Bica's waste bins had no sharp edges or visible hinges.
The capacity of 90 liters per bin was also a crucial factor, ensuring that the cleaning staff would not need to change the bags more frequently than before. The waste solution was also designed without a lock, which was a deliberate decision. Time is precious when many waste bins need to be emptied, so the work for the cleaning staff should not be made more difficult.
From waste to resources
We cannot expect our foreign passengers to know about the Danish refundable system. Therefore, it was incredibly important to make the differences clear in order to achieve correct sorting.
Helle Holm Clausen, Senior Project Manager, CPH
Customized waste solution:
- Tilt-function bag holder for ergonomic emptying
- Front door to avoid heavy lifting
- Drip tray for excess liquid
- Opens quickly without the use of a key
- Large capacity for fewer emptyings
- No sharp edges or visible hinges
From waste to resources
It was crucial for us that the operating staff could easily and efficiently handle waste bins and at the same time maintain a good physical working environment.
Mads Nordby, Area Manager, Logistics & waste management, CPH
Future expectations
The waste solutions must contribute to the sustainable development of the airport
The new waste sorting systems contribute positively to the sustainable development of the airport, and both passengers and staff have responded very well to the waste sorting. The biggest challenge is that waste sorting takes up a lot of space, and there is competition for both space and attention in a large airport like CPH. Despite this, waste sorting — including recycling and reuse — is an area they will focus on heavily in the coming years and continue to work on optimizing.
From waste to resources
Bica was accommodating to specially develop a waste solution for us, as their standard products did not match our needs.
Helle Holm Clausen, Senior Project Manager, CPH
See how we have helped others with waste sorting
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