The aviation waste reduction and recycling initiatives, if undertaken in an effective manner, have the potential to contribute greatly to local and global environmental protection. Greater awareness in aviation sector is needed
Air transport is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries. Today’s worldwide tourism and international exchange of goods and services would not be possible without airlines. Given the meteoric rise of the industry, solid waste management and disposal is emerging as the single most significant issue in the environmental management of the aviation sector. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that during 2016, airline passengers generated 5.2 million tonnes of waste — that’s the weight of about 2.6 million cars. This waste is set to double over the next 15 years and is likely to put enormous pressure on the landfill parks and other waste disposal infrastructure.
According to a research study — Waste Reduction & Recycling Strategies for the Airline Industry — published by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, each commercial flight that takes off generates up to 500kg of waste that includes food, galley and cabin waste. The waste composition analysis conducted by the research study showed that mainly newspaper, meal menu cards etc, were the largest component, ranging from 32 per cent to 71 per cent by weight of the total galley and cabin waste. Another major component was plastic items. Transparent polystyrene drinking cups and food covers accounted for up to 13% of the total weight whereas aluminum cans account for up to 4% of the total waste.
The aviation industry is under immense pressure to check its green house gas emissions as passenger numbers rise due to air travel becoming increasingly affordable. However, the challenge is to contain the massive waste footprint without limiting the sectors growth as the disposal of aviation waste itself is proving to be a costly proposition. According to IATA, cabin waste costs the industry $500 million per year, and this figure is rising faster than ever before, especially in India thanks to rising fuel prices and fierce competition, forcing the airlines to keep tickets affordable. These conditions are making airlines to look at quick fix and affordable solutions for waste disposal and therein lies the problem.
India’s growing economy coupled with a burgeoning middle class is translating into more people preferring to fly. Though this is putting the aviation sector as a high growth sector of Indian economy, it is also paving the way for the generation of huge waste quantities both by airlines as well as airports. It needs to be addressed on a priority basis. Efficient and environmentally-friendly aviation waste management of future would primarily hinge on reducing the quantity of inflight and airport wastage, waste segregation and initiatives of recycling and up-cycling. This will establish the eco-friendly aspect of aviation sector and contribute to economic, environmental, operational, and social benefits to all the stakeholders.
The Indian aviation sector is yet to evolve to its full potential, as compared to the global counterparts, for instance the aviation ministry has only recently flagged off regional commuter flights. Similarly, the interests being evinced by global airlines such as Oman Air in Indian aviation sector, shows the promise and potential held by the sector. But before the sector takes off on a journey of growth, it is of critical importance for the Government, and the Civil Aviation Ministry in particular, to establish ground rules and regulations that not only facilitate a healthy growth but also factor in the environmental well-being.
As a part of the initiative to usher in responsible growth of the aviation sector, the National Green Tribunal had already taken an exemplary step some time back by prohibiting airlines to dispose waste mid-air. The government must also take extraordinary steps to ensure that the airlines are issued suitable instructions that enable upcycling ofaircraft waste material such as plastic meal trays, cutlery and even seat upholstery. It is also essential to create a green purchasing cooperative between airlines, flight kitchens and suppliers to improve availability and cost of recyclable products. This will have an immediate positive impact in reducing waste.
The authorities must also sensitise the airlines and airport operators on the importance of waste segregation on board the flight itself, so that the waste is not mixed at the point of generation. In addition to this, India can also emulate some best practices adopted in other parts of the world, for instance the Gatwick airport in the UK opened an on-site waste-to-energy plant, reducing the need for lorries to transport waste elsewhere besides generating clean and green energy. Measures such as these ensure that the growth of the aviation sector takes place without collateral damage to the environment as waste management is an important area of the environment management system in the airline industry it must be accorded its due importance
The aviation waste reduction and recycling initiatives, if undertaken in an effective manner have the potential to contribute greatly to local and global environmental protection, and can save substantial operation costs for the airline industry.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)