Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for years have pursued an unusual goal: To build a first-of-its-kind recycling and composting facility on airport grounds.

It’s the linchpin in a lofty ambition: To make the world’s busiest airport — home to tens of thousands of cars and shuttles and thousands of jet aircraft taking off and landing daily — also a leading “green” airport.

“I want Hartsfeld-Jackson to be one of the most sustainable airports in America,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said of the city-run airport.

Finding a business to take on the project, dubbed Green Acres ATL Energy Park, has turned into a case of good intentions flying headlong into reality, however.

Read more about the Green Acres project -- and the challenges it faces -- on MyAJC.com.

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Teamsters members who handle trash collection in Alpharetta went on strike at their facility on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Cumming. About 500 Republic Teamsters are on strike across the country, according to the union. (Courtesy of the Teamsters)

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Scott Jackson (right), business service consultant for WorkSource Fulton, helps job seekers with their applications in a mobile career center at a job fair hosted by Goodwill Career Center in Atlanta. (Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC)

Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC