A pneumatic solution
The lagoon city’s airport is the second one in Europe to put an advanced pneumatic waste collection system from Envac into operation. It supports the goal of the Save Group, the hub’s operator, of becoming emission-free by 2030.
On 2 April this year a new pneumatic waste management system was inaugurated at Venice airport (VCE), in northern Italy. After Oslo Gardermoen the airport, named after the famous world traveller Marco Polo, is the second European hub to rely on this technology.
The system was implemented together with Sweden’s Envac Group and serves to promote a circular economy and optimise overall operational sustainability.
Part of the sustainability strategy
The first phase includes over 500 m of underground pipelines that automatically transport waste from the passenger terminal to the central collection station. The waste is already collected separately into residual waste, packaging and organic waste. The system replaces the use of several vehicles in the airport compound and saves approximately 6 t of CO2 annually.
With total investments of approximately EUR 2.1 million, the facility is part of the Save Group’s sustainability strategy, which aims to completely decarbonise northeastern Italian airports by 2030.
In the long term Venice airport’s new pneumatic network, which already disposes of 33% of the total waste generated by airport operations, is set to be extended to a length of 6.5 km.
Monica Scarpa, the chief executive officer of the Save Group, emphasised the fact that the system is a milestone on the company’s way towards the goal of achieving zero emissions by the year 2030. At the same time, water consumption will also be reduced by using a new treatment system, amongst other measures.
Airfreight volumes on the rise
Carlos Bernad, president and CEO of Envac Emea, was proud of his company’s return to the airports sector. “With our system we can make a concrete contribution to greater resource efficiency, help reduce emissions and promote a sustainable approach to waste management.”
In addition to VCE the Save Group also operates the airports in Treviso (TSF), Verona (VRN) and Brescia (VBS), as well as Charleroi airport (CRL), which is located in southern Belgium.
18.4 million passengers passed through the four Italian locations in 2024, as did 101,000 t of airfreight. Both figures correspond to just over 8% of the country’s total.
According to Assaeroporti, the country’s airport association, approximately 1.249 million t of airfreight were handled overall in Italy last year, which is 14.9% more than in 2023. Of this, industry leader Milan Malpensa accounted for 731,641 t (+8.9%), followed by the Rome Fiumicino hub, with 271,580 t (+43%).
Rome was followed by VCE, the highest-ranked airport in the Save Group, which came to 61,597 t (+30.1%). VBS, the hub in the group that’s geared towards freight, ranks fifth, with 38,568 t (+9.4%), after Bologna (56,371 t; +10.5%).