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Recovering International Recyclables from In-Flight Service (2020)

Chapter: Chapter 6 Conclusions

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Page 35
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Recovering International Recyclables from In-Flight Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25813.
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Page 35
Page 36
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Recovering International Recyclables from In-Flight Service. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25813.
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Page 36

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29 CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSIONS The aviation industry benefits from a closed and controlled ecosystem of procurement, consumption, and collection of consumables when it comes to the handling of recyclables. Airport operators are well positioned to play a unique and instrumental role in extracting value through the development of advanced handling and recovery of NCRM, with a resulting increase in currently untapped revenue streams. Despite this closed ecosystem, airport operators face hurdles similar to those of other industries, including the challenge of successfully implementing recycling programs in conjunction with other stakeholders. Airport operators, however, do benefit from having some control and flexibility regarding how issues are managed on their site, given their control over their land-based operations. Global examples of airport operators working alongside industry stakeholders for the recovery of NCRM were low overall. Airports have demonstrated, however, an ability to bring together stakeholders in some markets and have demonstrated the successful implementation of sustainability programs. In many cases, sustainability programs such as NCRM can offset operational costs, or aid in the reallocation of budgets to deliver operational excellence in the area of recycling. A combination of invasion risk-related tariffs and support for biosecurity-enhancing measures in exporting countries would tackle the fundamental causes of the invasive species risks of globalization. (Perrings et al. 2005). A challenge for airport operators remains in the extraction of the value of NCRM due to the materials selection process beginning with the airlines and continuing higher up the value chain; specifically, during the stage of procurement. Airline procurement strategies are also very complex and have limitations partially due to their long-established supply chains. Existing manufacturing facilities are also tooled in specific ways and, as many airlines require changes to packaging, suppliers often cannot pivot in an economically viable way. Changing or influencing these value chain processes can be very difficult in the short-term. Procurement and supply chain variables, therefore, can place stresses and limits on what airport operators can collect. Airport operators, however, can shape the outcome of what they receive by initiating dialogue with their airline customers. Doing so could ensure streamlined collection, separation at source, and the possibility of generating untapped revenue through NCRM recovery. Increased collaboration and supply chain standardization can give airport operators a leading edge in sustainability stewardship while providing a feedback loop for future procurement strategies for airlines. In essence, land-based airport operations could offer a staging area for inbound airlines. As more airlines work with airport operators from visiting markets, the throughput efficiency and revenue from an advanced collection of NCRM can be realized. When working in unison, the chains of procurement, consumption, and recovery could also deliver value to airport operators. Often the inbound recovery of IRIFS or International Catering Waste (ICW) is not recycled due to a breakdown of this chain resulting in QW for both airlines and airports. QW is then regulated according to a receiving country’s long-standing policies for all ports. QW is prohibited from being recovered due to it potentially acting as a vector for pests and pathogens, possibly threatening other industries. Under certain circumstances; however, recycling of ICW may occur, but only if no contamination is evident. These Non-Contaminated Recyclable Materials may be handled without restrictions. In most countries if NCRM is sorted and isolated from QW, recycling may occur. The act of recovering NCRM itself may be straightforward, but carrying out all the protocols to ensure it is collected without incident may be complicated. Every municipality has a different waste service provider, each of whom is limited on what they can recycle. Each airport may have a preferred handling method and protocol for recovery. Often this has a ripple effect on inbound airlines, dictating how an airline manages its operations regarding waste at that station.

30 Airports may also assign airlines the handling of their own waste which brings in a third party, adding even more complexity to the process. Third-party waste and recycling services also have their own handling methods and these myriad of challenges can stem well-intentioned stakeholders from taking the lead on handling QW and NCRM. Collectively, these inconsistencies compound recovery challenges resulting in reduced program efficacies. In summary, varying protocols at each station can diminish participation and motivations. However, with all of these compounding complexities, some airports still manage to execute recovery of NCRM. Typically, only a handful of airports and airlines globally do so and in a manner which pays for and operates their material recovery. Airports which offer NCRM and QW support for visiting airlines have been shown able to reduce their operating costs by grouping together fees and waste streams of attending airlines. Conversely, individual airlines that choose to practice recovery on their own paid the price of higher costs and handling fees to do so. Due to globally low NCRM recovery programs and reduced industry participation, typically a higher price is commanded for these programs, which drives down interest as a result and further reduces the benefit of ROI. Due to the currently generally low number of airports managing NCRM recovery, airlines are forced to absorb the cost of carrying out waste diversion. Thus, individual airlines typically opt out of recovering NCRM altogether. This practice decreases motivation further unless stakeholders are motivated for increased environmental stewardship through a higher diversion rate. Furthermore, as airlines decline recovery participation, it reduces the throughput efficiency that would have existed otherwise. In general, NCRM recovery in the aviation industry is low, and airports could gain economically from managing airlines' entire waste stream. An opportunity to have increased sustainability, increased diversion and cost reduction could also be realized. In the words of one airline waste professional, “I guess there is someone across the ocean who is doing the same things as me, wondering if, when their planes land … their materials are going to get recycled.” Aviation stakeholders have limited budgets and, while more carbon-intensive reduction initiatives take precedence over recycling programs, the industry still regards them to be necessary. Despite this, NCRM recovery has seen limited adoption to date. Revenue-generating platforms could be used to increase sustainability as evidenced by the rising popularity with airline passengers, and the general public, of carbon emission offsets. In one study, 70.4% of airline passengers were willing to pay more than $20 to offset the carbon emissions generated during their journey (Jou, R.-C., and T.-Y. Chen. 2015). With the Business for Social Responsibility organization stating that 93% of global consumers wanting to see social or environmental issues addressed, there could be more room for advanced NCRM recovery programs funded through creative economic driven platforms. It is evident that the global aviation industry is committed to advancing sustainability. The unification of the industry’s stakeholders could ensure seamless and uninterrupted NCRM recovery. As sustainability value in the marketplace becomes increasingly important to consumers, airlines and airports have an opportunity to capitalize on closing the gaps of NCRM recovery. Closing these gaps could add economic value to the industry's bottom line as well as add sustainability value to travelers. In doing so, the aviation industry could be in a position of greater leadership in environmental initiatives.

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When exposed to certain foods or fluids, recyclables arriving on international flights are required to be quarantined due to potential contaminants. As a result, almost every country worldwide prescribes sterilization, incineration, or other disposal methods for these contaminated recyclables.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Web-Only Document 46: Recovering International Recyclables from In-Flight Service finds that supply chains, advanced stakeholder engagement, value chain collaboration, and a globally standardized and adopted approach may be needed to increase and better monetize the recovery of Non-Contaminated Recyclable Materials (NCRM).

With a multi-stakeholder approach, airports, airlines, and flight kitchens, along with support partners, can affect the recovery efficiency of NCRM. Through these collaborative efforts, gaps in supply and collection chains can be addressed.

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