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.