Schiphol never stands still. Aircrafts take off and land, passengers come and go, staff keep everything moving, and materials are constantly in motion. In an environment this dynamic, one question stands out: how do you organise waste and materials in a way that matches tomorrow’s ambitions?
Seenons and Schiphol Group have been working on that question together for several years now. The shared ambition is clear and unchanged: a waste-free airport by 2030 and fully circular airports by 2050. What started as a strategic partnership in 2023 has grown into a broad programme where data, partnerships and concrete pilots come together.
Why Schiphol needed a fundamentally different waste strategy
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTHA), both part of Schiphol Group, faced a complex challenge. Traditional waste processing methods were inefficient, offered too little transparency and didn’t align with the airports’ sustainability goals. Given the scale and complexity of an airport, it was clear that optimisation alone wouldn’t be enough.
Making real progress toward zero waste required a fundamentally different way of working and organising together.
A multi-year partnership with Seenons and Renewi as the foundation for zero waste
That new approach took shape as a strategic partnership between Schiphol Group, Renewi and Seenons. On 1 June 2023, an 8-year collaboration began in which Renewi acts as the waste-to-product company, responsible for transporting, processing and recycling waste streams.
Seenons supports the airports with an independent waste management platform that provides full visibility into the waste management process and access to a network of innovative logistics and processing partners.
“In the transition to a circular economy, collaboration is the key word,” says Marc den Hartog, Managing Director Commercial Waste Netherlands at Renewi. “This challenge goes far beyond simply collecting residual streams efficiently.”
Transparency and control over waste streams through a shared zero waste roadmap
Together, Schiphol Group, Renewi and Seenons developed a zero waste roadmap: a phased approach with clear interim targets and corresponding interventions. The focus is on reducing material use, encouraging reuse and optimising recycling. The roadmap also provides transparency into data, including the CO2 impact of transport and material consumption.
From strategy to practice: the first steps at Schiphol
In the first year of the partnership, the focus was on building structure and visibility. The Seenons platform made waste streams and their impact visible, laying the groundwork for further optimisation. At the same time, the first initiatives were rolled out to embed sustainable behaviour into daily operations.
A key example is the introduction of Zero Waste offices in 2024. EcoSmart, part of Renewi, plays a central role here by combining cleaning and waste processing into a single service, designed specifically for office environments.
A second life for 50 office chairs
Circularity is about more than waste alone. Terminal and office renovations regularly free up furniture that’s still perfectly usable but no longer needed in that location. Schiphol asked Seenons to help find a new use for 50 office chairs, so they wouldn’t end up as residual waste.
Working with Euro Rotor and Renewi, the chairs got a second life. With support from Renewi, they were prepared for transport and reuse. As a nice follow-up, the next batch of office chairs didn’t even need to leave the Schiphol site: interested colleagues within the organisation were already keen to give them a new purpose. A concrete example of circular thinking in practice.
Passenger waste separation tested and scaled across Schiphol Group
Steps are being taken for passengers too. At Rotterdam The Hague Airport, new bins have been installed for five different waste streams, so waste can be separated right at the source. This location serves as a testing ground within Schiphol Group to find out what works and what doesn’t.
Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, work is underway to optimise existing bins. The first step is taking place at the G-pier, where around 35 waste bins are being adapted to further improve waste separation and processing.
Using renovations as an opportunity to prevent material loss
Renovation projects traditionally result in significant material loss. Together with construction partners BAM and Heijmans, Schiphol is exploring how building materials can get a second life during renovations. These initiatives are still in development, but align closely with the shared ambition to minimise waste and keep raw materials in circulation for as long as possible.
Moving forward together toward a waste-free airport by 2030 and circular by 2050
Over the past few years, the partnership between Seenons and Schiphol Group has led to greater visibility into waste streams and concrete progress toward less residual waste and more reuse. At the same time, awareness is growing around the value of materials and the role reuse plays in that.
Looking ahead to 2030 and 2050, Seenons, Schiphol Group and their partners continue building together toward a cleaner, smarter and circular Schiphol. Want to work with partners toward a waste-free world, just like Schiphol Group? Get in touch. One of our specialists would be happy to think it through with you.
