Airplane cabin waste characterization: Knowing the waste for sustainable management and future recommendations

Towards zero-waste airports: a case study of Istanbul Airport

In this day and age, an important indicator of sustainable waste management is zero-waste index. Zero-waste approach is adopted by many organizations in different sectors. In this context, implementation of sustainable waste management at airports, which have become the most vibrant centers of the transportation sector in the globalizing world, is one of the important environmental issues. In this study, the activities carried out in the Istanbul airport in 2019-2020 within the scope of sustainable waste management were evaluated within the framework of zero-waste approach. For this purpose, waste characterizations for different zones in the airport have been presented. When the methods used in the disposal of the wastes were examined, it was seen that recycling (43-49%) and landfilling (50-57%) took the first place. The results of the study reveal that the pandemic restrictions implemented in 2020 have caused significant differences in the amount and composition of waste generated. The highest decrease in waste generation occurred in Zone A where terminal activities are located, with 76%. This change was also reflected in the zero-waste index determined depending on the waste management strategies applied, and the values calculated for 2019 and 2020 were found to be 0.35 and 0.26, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10163-021-01308-2.

Why Is Airline Food Always Dreadful? Analysis of Factors Influencing Passengers’ Food Wasting Behaviour

Food waste is emerging as a global issue and has been recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals with a specific target to halve per capita global food waste at consumer levels and reduce food losses by 2030. Research on food waste has been neglected particularly in the aviation sector. The International Air Transport Association reported that 5.7 million tonnes of cabin waste was generated on airlines, up to 80.5% of which was leftover food and beverages. The exploration of passengers’ food wasting aims to provide insights for tackling the airline food waste problem. To address this issue, this research investigated the in-flight catering experience of 19 passengers from 21 full-service flights. Qualitative research techniques have been applied to analyse passengers’ food-wasting behaviour by collecting participant-produced photographs and completed questionnaires concerning food-related behaviour. This research identified key factors associated with passengers’ food wasting behaviour by adopting Design for Sustainable Behaviour approaches. Four types of factors were found to influence onboard passenger waste, these were normative, habitual, intentional and situational factors. This research indicates that behavioural change interventions need to incorporate the power of social norms to prevent food waste.