Iberia recycles Cabin Waste

• Iberia’s “Life + Zero Cabin Waste” programme for recycling waste in aircraft cabins is now operational on all long-haul flights and is to be implemented progressively on all European and domestic flights by the Spanish airline before the end of June.
• The idea is to help establish a sustainable business model by reducing, reusing, and recycling all wastes produced by in-flight catering operations.

 

Iberia has announced that its “LIFE + Zero Cabin Waste” programme is progressively contributing to a cleaner environment. Co-financed by the EU’s “LIFE” environmental protection programme, Iberia’s Zero Cabin Waste project also has the support and cooperation of Ecoembes, Gate Gourmet, Ferrovial Servicios, the UNESCO Life Cycle initiative and the ESCI-UPF Climate Change programme.  

The most recent step in the implementation of the project is the separation of catering wastes on board all Iberia long-haul flights, a practice which will be extended to all European and domestics flights by the end of June.

New catering carts will facilitate the separation of plastic, metal, paper, and composite beverage containers, which will be collected by the Gate Gourmet catering service supplier at Madrid-Barajas airport for delivery to recycling companies.

So far more that 5,200 kg. of separated wastes representing 61% of the total, has been collected on short- and medium-haul flights, bringing a reduction of some 600 tonnes of CO2 emission.

Iberia has also reduced by more than 5% reduction its catering wastes, amounting to a savings of 95,400 kg. since the Zero Cabin Waste programme was launched in September 2016. This reduction is expected to reach 10% in coming months.

Objective: To Recover 80% of Cabin Waste

Under this programme, Iberia aims to recover some 80% of all in-flight catering waste products, through recycling, composting, and energy production, to the direct benefit of the environment thanks to a more economical use of raw materials and a more efficient use of natural resources.