In 1989, Airport Recycling Specialists (ARS) opened a waste processing and materials recovery facility (MRF) at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL). This was the first MRF at any airport in the world. November 2004 heralded the completion of our fifteenth year of operations. Since start-up we have recovered over 20 million pounds of recyclable materials, including enough aluminum to build a fleet of more than twenty commercial jetliners. In 2004, alone, ARS recovered over two million pounds of recyclable materials from FLL's waste stream.
Without the ARS program, most of these materials would have had to be incinerated which, in turn, would have generated substantial amounts of carbon dioxide gas, other air pollutants, and hazardous waste ash. Furthermore, because far more energy is needed to produce goods from raw materials than from recycled materials, the ARS program has helped save over 300 billion BTUs of energy -- the equivalent of roughly two million gallons of crude oil. In total, we estimate ARS has now offset more than 50 million pounds of CO2 emissions, averted the generation of over 4 million pounds of other pollutants, helped conserve over 50 million gallons of water that would have been needed to convert raw natural resources into useable materials, and helped save over 100,000 trees from being logged to produce paper products and new pallets.
At the same time, by significantly reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal, ARS has helped keep FLL's waste management costs relatively flat over those 15 years, despite the fact that regional waste disposal fees and the Airport's annual passenger load have both nearly tripled since 1989. Finally, by creating jobs, purchasing equipment, and helping fuel the growth of South Florida's recycling industry, ARS has also made sizeable contributions to the local economy.
This Report documents some of our accomplishments in 2004 and also outlines various changes we have made to our operations over the past year. While we are very proud of our accomplishments, it is important to recognize that the environmental and economic benefits provided by the ARS program would not have been possible without the support of Broward County, the Broward County Aviation Department, the airlines and the other participating companies at FLL.