Earth Month is Every Month at SLO County Airport
Jarrod Zinn
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Earth Month may be ending soon, but slo county airport’s sustainability efforts won’t be.
Multiple projects are slated for ongoing carbon footprint reduction and waste mitigation at the San Luis Obispo County Airport, scheduled to begin within the coming weeks and months, and some have already started.
“Sometimes people ask, why are we doing these different kinds of initiatives. And we know that our entire region is really deeply embedded in environmental stewardship. And so as a thoroughfare to this beautiful area that we live in, we really believe that it’s on us to be the first example,” says Annie Secrest, SLO Airport sustainability manager.
Upcoming projects include solar parking canopies and E.V. charging infrastructure for passenger use, adding to their current use of E.V. technology on the tarmac.
“We have one other project that’s also kind of behind the scenes And that’s an unused toilet paper recapture program. During the turnover events where our custodial staff are going through our restrooms and getting them set up for the next flights, we’re actually recapturing those clean, unused toilet paper rolls and then donating them,” says Secret.
Additionally, a local company founded by a cal poly graduate is installing freshwater fill stations that serve as ordered in 100% compostable containers.
“This enables a new system where we don’t need to transport water, so we transport about 90% less weight and we don’t need a long shelf life so we can make it out of, you know, composable materials,” says Scott Edward, founder of Dropwater.
Airport staff are excited for these new additions to be implemented, which will reinforce their company’s approach to proper stewardship in addition to the comforts their passengers expect.