The passenger cabin is seen as a highly visible element of aviation industry’s environmental performance. The packaging used and the waste collected are indicative of an airline’s commitment to sustainable initiatives. The airline industry has been always the subject of criticism for inadequate cabin waste recycling, which threatens the sector’s environmental reputation.
Cabin waste is made up of two main streams: Cleaning waste and catering (galley) waste. The average passenger generates approximately 1.43kg of waste per flight, equating to nearly 6mn tons of waste per year once traffic fully recovers in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association. Approximately 20% of this is untouched food and drink. That alone is worth about $4bn, money that is effectively incinerated and that could be allocated to environmental initiatives. Of course, the fact that this food and drink is sealed and untouched also suggests it could be used — perhaps for humanitarian efforts.
Or, if biotreated, it could be a critical energy source. Not so. International Catering Waste (ICW) rules effectively prevent reuse, donation, recycling and biotreatment.
In 2019, IATA’s ‘cabin waste handbook’ identified some 23 actions that could improve an airline’s cabin waste performance, including meal selection at time of check-in. Even so, it is clear that smarter regulation would alleviate much of the problem. Airline meals are produced using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety procedures, initially designed by Nasa for the Apollo space program. “And yet meals produced to such standards are deemed a bio-hazardous waste when discarded by a passenger, requiring specialist handling and treatment,” points out Jon Godson, IATA’s assistant director (Sustainability).