TACKLING INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE CATERING WASTE MANAGEMENT: LIFE ZERO CABIN WASTE PROJECT. STATE OF THE ART AND FIRST STEPS

Concerns about cabin waste date back more than two decades. However, in the past few years, several airlines and stakeholders (notably catering companies) have increased their efforts to tackle this issue. A number of factors such as low landfill disposal rates, particularly for inorganic fractions, lack of appropriate facilities and restrictive regulations had traditionally discouraged airlines and other actors to proactively look for solutions. LIFE+ Zero Cabin Waste aims to create a sustainable model to reduce, re-use and recycle (including energy recovery) waste recollected in Iberia airplane cabins in Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain) and set the basis for its replication by other airlines and related stakeholders in the future. The objectives of this project are: properly separate the cabin waste on board, demonstrate that waste can be dealt with in a more environmentally friendly way contributing to the reduction of the high carbon footprint associated to the generation and the current inadequate management of cabin waste and set the basis for replication through standard protocols. The project, although it is in the first stage, has already been laid the bases and recommendations for future implementations and improvements that will allow reaching the proposed objectives.