This is Essex --STANSTED Airport has scooped "Gold" accreditation for its recycling prowess.
Aviation bosses recycled more than 60 per cent of airport waste in 2013 and only seven per cent of rubbish was shifted to landfill sites.
Stansted's environment and utilities manager, Kathy Morrissey, said: "Achieving the highest award under the National Recycling Stars accreditation scheme is not just great for Stansted Airport as a business but for the wider airport community.
"It recognises the partnership approach taken by our cleaning contractor, waste disposal company and 190 companies and thousands of employees on-site who all play their part."
The hub, which welcomes nearly 18 million passengers yearly and employs more than 10,200, currently generates about 5,000 tonnes in waste annually.
In 2010 bosses set targets to recycle at least 60 per cent of waste and to send zero per cent of rubbish to landfill by 2015.
With the Stansted team having already surpassed the former target, National Recycling Stars granted it the top of four possible accreditations.
The scheme assesses what percentage is diverted from landfill, what waste is recycled, what type of waste streams it produces, what strategies it has put in place and what staff awareness schemes have been implemented.
Kathy, the driving force behind the hub's "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" strategy, added: " We're making great progress and the team here at Stansted remain focussed on our target to send 0 per cent of waste direct to landfill by 2015 and to improve even further on the total waste recycled at the airport."
In December Stansted failed to make the Davies Commission shortlist to become the UK's new four-runway super hub.
Yet managing director Andrew Harrison insisted the airport was "exactly where we planned it to be." Reported by This is 8 hours ago.
