Airport waste-valet pilot contract with Scraps advanced to full council after committee briefing

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted Wednesday to forward to the full City Council a contract to continue a zero-waste valet program at Denver International Airport run by Scraps, a local compost and micro-hauling company.

Airport sustainability staff said the program — which collects back-of-house food waste and recyclables from concessions and trains employees in separation best practices — has diverted more than 400 tons of material since it began in May 2024 and is projected to collect another 550–600 tons in 2026. "From just those concessions alone…we've already increased DEN's overall waste diversion rate by 3%," Alexa Rosenstein, sustainability specialist, said. Rosenstein and others said the pilot is currently operating on B Concourse and that expansion across concourses could have larger airport-wide impacts.

The contract before the committee would provide $720,000 in funding through Dec. 31, 2026 to continue the service while the airport runs a competitive procurement aimed at a 2027 longer-term contract. Staff said the current pilot was supported with a Front Range waste-diversion grant administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE, referenced in the meeting as the C3 grant), and that the contract with Scraps fills the funding gap while procurement proceeds.

Airport staff told the committee the zero-waste valet team provides in-person training, routine audits and contamination control for concessions’ back-of-house waste streams. Rosenstein said the concessions participating in the pilot diverted an average of about 75% of their waste with the service, compared with the 15–25% diversion rate concessions typically achieved without the program. The airport’s overall diversion rate was reported at about 22% in the prior year; staff estimated full rollout across concourses could increase the airport-wide diversion rate by roughly 10 percentage points.

Council members asked about the relationship between Scraps and the airport’s contracted hauler, Republic Services. Rosenstein said Scraps performs the on-site collection, education and audits and then works with the airport’s waste-hauler contract (Republic Services) for transport and processing. Committee members also discussed universal-design and janitorial programs that could complement diversion efforts; staff said they plan additional coordination with janitorial contractors and stakeholders.

Council member of Idris moved the item and council member Flynn seconded; the committee recorded no abstentions or opposition and the chair said the item will move to the full council. If the council approves the contract, airport staff said Scraps’ service would continue without an interruption and staff would run a competitive procurement to evaluate a larger, multisite model for 2027.