I have had a few questions recently from people wondering about recycling waste from food services on board flights. I know a huge number of airlines have very active on board recycling programmes, I know lots of airports worldwide have in-terminal programmes (some very innovative, as demonstrated by the Seattle Tacoma Airport video below), but there has not been a global study done to show the extent of recycling in the aviation industry. What I do know is that we can certainly do more of it.

The National Resources Defense Council released a report in 2006 about how airlines and airports in the USA produce enough aluminium can (or should that be aloominum?) rubbish to build 58 Boeing 747′s and that there was a major need to step up recycling programmes. Since then, the industry has really taken up the challenge and done some amazing work to introduce on-board recycling programmes. When I flew Continental Airlines last month, the cabin crew were certainly seperating the cardboard boxes from the plastic cups. In fact, over the last three years, the guys at Continental tell me the airline has recycled over 7.5 million kilos.

There are a few issues with recycling from aircraft. Firstly, for international flights, a lot of governments have laws which demand that all food waste (and items contaminated with food) get either washed at heat or destroyed. This is due to quarantine issues and bringing food into a country. Therefore, normal plastic knives, forks and cups can’t be washed and returned to service. And the issue with using metal and glass is weight – airlines must choose between having recyclable cutlery which weighs less and uses less fuel, or heavier washable utensils which use more fuel. Which part of the environment do they want to save today?!

There is some innovation in this area, you’ll be pleased to know. Some airlines are starting to design and use very lightweight metal cutlery. And in today’s news we learn of a new type of plastic cutlery which can also be washed and returned to service. Qantas Airways says it can reuse the cutlery at least three times. Air New Zealand also uses ‘commercial grade rotable products’ – long-lasting plastic bowls and cups to you and I – that can be re-used up to 10 times.

- Image from Flickr user Lizjones112