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            The Alaska Airlines team at the Kodiak State Airport is joining a company-wide program to reduce their carbon footprint. Mary Donaldson has more.

Alaska Airlines has a Going Green team that has been working on several ways to incorporate more environmentally friendly practices to their business, both on the ground and in air. The team is made up of Alaska employees who have a passion for earth-friendly causes or whose jobs provide them with opportunities to implement better environmental practices. They focus on the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle. Marianne Lindsey is the Manager of Communications for Alaska Airlines and says over the past year, the airline has made a commitment to be more focused on the environment.

(Lindsey 1                   :17s     “…daily on the job.”)

On Monday, the Alaska team at the Kodiak State Airport began a new grassroots operation of their own to incorporate recycling in the terminal. Keri Smith is Alaska’s customer service manager at the Kodiak terminal and says they began recycling as a way to be involved with the airline’s Going Green plan.

            (Smith 1                      :34s     “…see where that takes us.”)

            She says they ordered their recycle bins online, and that they arrived in town last week along with the other supplies they needed to begin their part of the project. Smith says support at the corporate level was strong, and essentially what helped to bring recycling to the Kodiak airport.

            (Smith 2                      :33s     “…just kind of worked out.”)           

The airport now has bins for recycling paper, plastic and aluminum products. Smith says they have also been working with Threshold Recycling, since all of their recycled goods will be heading to the recycle station. Rick Pillans manages Threshold and says he thinks the recycling program at the airport is a great thing, and that he appreciates their efforts.

            Lindsey says Alaska Airlines’ Going Green team has many other projects they’re working on. They will soon be retiring their MD-80 fleet of airplanes and upgrading to the more fuel efficient Boeing 737-800s, as well as other efforts in air.

            (Lindsey 2                   :40s     “…other airports as well.”)

            Smith says it’s only the first week of the recycling program in Kodiak, but that her employees had already been making the extra effort to go green before bringing the recycle bins to the terminal.

            I’m Mary Donaldson.                        

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