Thanks to an agreement recently renewed for an additional two years, we are supporting the company managing the Fiumicino and Ciampino airports to develop circular initiatives aimed at reducing non-recoverable waste, improving recycling rates and making water consumption more efficient
With Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) we have joined forces to make Rome's Fiumicino and Ciampino airports increasingly sustainable, further developing the circular approach to resource management that has led Rome's airports to send all waste produced by passengers for recovery and to save over 1.4 million cubic metres of drinking water by 2024, using treated water for reuse for all uses where potable water is not strictly necessary.
A protocol for the circular management of Rome’s airports
The agreement with ADR renewed for another two years after an initial protocol launched in 2022, aims to continue along the path of continuous improvement in waste and water cycle management at the Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) and Giovan Battista Pastine (Ciampino) airports. This project is part of ADR’s sustainability plan, that sets sustainable process management at the heart of the company’s strategy.
Waste: more recycled, less discarded
In 2024, Fiumicino and Ciampino airports produced over 13,000 tonnes of waste. All the waste produced by passengers was sent for recovery, a result achieved thanks to the effective door-to-door separate waste collection system. Moreover, based on this methodology, it is expected, already by 2025, to further improve the recovery of different types of waste, with a focus on packaging and other significant sectors, to promote prevention, reuse and recycling. Concrete actions will thus be put in place for each type of waste, to reduce waste production and maximise the most virtuous forms of recovery.
Water: more efficient management and recovery of the resource
Sustainable use of the water resource is a priority strategy for ADR. At Fiumicino Airport, potable water is used for less than 30% of the airport's uses. Thanks to the presence of a dual network, ADR only uses potable water for those uses for which it is actually essential; in other cases it uses “treated” water from recycling or capture. Through advanced monitoring systems based on IoT technologies, we and ADR are working to minimise the risk of any leaks or anomalies in the water network of the two Rome airports, thus further reducing the risk of waste.
Wastewater management, an increasingly circular approach
Fiumicino Airport, like a medium-sized city, is equipped with two wastewater treatment plants that are directly managed by ADR. Wastewater treatment is an important element of the airport management process and is another key aspect of the collaboration with ADR. For several years now, ADR has been using a dual water network, separating the use of drinking water from that of treated water for reuse, and the water resulting from the purification process is reused for airport uses (toilets, heating systems, watering and fire-fighting systems). Thanks to the support of Herambiente Servizi Industriali (HASI), it has been possible to further develop a sustainable approach to wastewater management by implementing and upgrading water purification systems; the sludge resulting from this process is sent to composting plants for reuse in agriculture.
For further information
Press release