Special Report
Example from Coca-Cola Enterprises Europe. Packaging weight reduction since launch
Carbon footprint: Flight of 500 km PP cup
11% 33% -30% -12%
3. Re-use: By using more recycled materials not only do we avoid the need for virgin material, we reduce the energy required and we create the market for recycled materials (value) and for business to invest in recycling (capacity). Example: Coca-Cola is the largest user of recycled PET in the world. However, there is considerable scope to increase this further. Whilst recycling/
-38% 56% 67%
Cup Use phase End-of-life
recovery rates for PET are high in countries like Belgium and Brazil, they remain relatively low (but growing) in countries like the U.K., USA, Spain, and Italy. 4. Recover and recycle: Airlines and airports have the potential for closed loop recycling and economies of scale. Delta has said “How would you feel if you learned that an employee was throwing
Recommendations for the airline industry:
1. Design in recyclability/understand the waste streams: Check everything including inks, labels, tops etc are recyclable, and check with the airline what the preferred waste streams are, e.g composting, which types of plastic etc. 2. Material quality: Where possible avoid contamination of recyclates e.g. by food. This will maintain their resale value and enable e.g. food grade re-use, such as bottle to bottle. 3. Re-load where possible at destination airports rather than fly product out and back. Suppliers like Coca- Cola can often provide a uniform product in terms of its size, weight, appearance and quality standards 4. Adjust beverage loading according to the passenger fill rates. i.e. if the plane is at 50% capacity don’t load as if for 100% and fly with the extra weight. 5. Consider the optimum packaging format for product quality, passenger experience, crew operability, price, weight and material recovery. It is a balancing act! 6. Recycle and recover all packaging materials 7. Use recycled content where possible, and renewable materials 8. Have two waste streams: 1) All recyclables and 2) Food and everything contaminated by food. This latter might be burnt for energy recuperation. Ideally longer term there will be no non-recyclable contaminants and the food can be used for energy recovery from anaerobic digestion leaving also compost for fertiliser 9. Engage passengers for their support, and communicate what you are doing in an engaging and interactive way, which avoids greenwash and maintains perspective. 10. Train, motivate and engage staff, whilst ensuring that actions are easy to operate. 11. Ultimately, for greater recycling and sustainability to work, all parties need to play their role, from the manufacturer, to the passenger, cabin crew, airline, and of course, the airport.
Cup Use phase End-of-life
away components worth over $300,000 per year? That is exactly what has been going on...” and they have created an in-flight recycling programme. Coca-Cola has invested in many bottle to bottle recycling plants around the world in order to build capacity in recycling and recovery systems, mechanisms and reward structures. One example from the airline industry is the
Coca-Cola Recycle Zone at Manchester Airport. This plans to recapture 1 million plastic bottles and the paper waste from 22 million passengers per year. 5. Renew: Coca-Cola has invested in and launched PET plastic bottles made partly from renewable plant based materials. These are identical to PET and so can be recycled and re-used within the PET waste stream. (This is not the same as renewable and compostable.) Some bio- plastics, such as PLA, have no commercial value to Material Recovery Facilities since they are compostable and not recyclable. They can also be hard to sort or may contaminate recyclable materials. (N.B. This whole area can also get very complex especially if land for food production is substituted.) 6. Compost and energy recovery (see suggestions panel on opposite page) 7. Disposal – last resort
*1 Source: What Goes Up Must Come Down: The Sorry State of Recycling in the Airline Industry. www.
greenamericatoday.org *2 Price for -Used Beverage Containers. 9/8/2010
www.novelisrecycling.co.uk/ * 3 Source: Coca-Cola *4 Source: Cathay Pacific Environmental performance report.
www.onboardhospitality.com 53
Carbon footprint: Flight of 6000 km PP cup
5% 28%
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76